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A stampede at a Tanzanian stadium crushed 45 people to death as mourners paid last respects to the late President John Magufuli, police said on Tuesday – many times more than the five fatalities initially announced after the disaster on 21 March.
Police in the port city of Dar es Salaam, where the stampede occurred, attributed some of the deaths to people being starved of oxygen at the event due to overcrowding.
“It is true that 45 people died because of stampedes and failing to get enough air,” Lazaro Mambosasa, Dar es Salaam’s zonal police commander, told Reuters.
Another 37 mourners were injured, he said, adding that they had all been treated in hospital and discharged.
Tanzanian media reported that the crush happened when large numbers of mourners sought to force their way into the stadium through unofficial entrance points.
Tanzania police confirm 45 people died in stadium crush
Figure is many times higher than the five fatalities initially announced after 21 March disaster
www.theguardian.com
