Memorial held for stadium victims

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- President Thabo Mbeki has led the mourning at the memorial for the 43 people killed in the Ellis Park stadium tragedy.

World boxing champion Lennox Lewis was among the mourners at the service on Sunday which was held at the scene of South Africa's worst sporting disaster.

Bouquets were scattered across the field where on Wednesday emergency workers laid out the bodies of the dead, including two boys aged 11 and 13, killed in a crush.

Organisers said the ceremony marked a ritual cleansing to clear the stadium of bad spirits and to reclaim the spirits of the dead.

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Priests and leaders of several religious denominations walked through the stadium, using bunches of leaves or branches to sprinkle cleansing water in areas where people died and where the bodies were laid out.

Several women collapsed as the names of the known victims were read out. Paramedics moved among the families offering comfort and support.

Organisers had prepared for about 30,000 people, but fewer than 5,000 -- including relatives of the victims -- braved light rain to attend the ceremony.

"This is a sad and very tragic moment. Over this stadium hangs heavy emotion, a lot of pain and anger," said Danny Jordaan, chief executive officer of the South African Football Association.

Jordaan, who is heading South Africa's bid to host the 2010 World Cup final, said he would await the outcome of a judicial inquiry into the disaster before proposing remedies.

Lewis is in South Africa for a world heavyweight title fight on Saturday against American challenger Hasim Rahman, and South African world junior flyweight champion Baby Jake Matlala.

Mbeki appointed a judge on Thursday to conduct an inquiry into the cause of the accident 33 minutes into the first-half of the derby clash between the country's top teams, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

Sunday newspapers highlighted a growing row over responsibility for the disaster, with police, stadium managers and the clubs trading allegations of negligence.

Witnesses say most of the victims had died in a surge after the stadium was declared full and gates were locked.

An estimated 15,000 people, some claiming to have tickets, pressed against gates, one of which fell, trapping dozens of people who died as the mob ran over them.

The Johannesburg mortuary said on Sunday that 10 victims had still to be identified.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.

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Ellis Park Stadium
African National Congress
Fifa

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