Post date: Jan 02, 2013 4:38:8 PM
Ivorians look for answers as Ivory Coast begins three days of national mourning after more than 60 people are crushed to death in a stampede following a New Year fireworks display in the capital, Abidjan.
ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (JANUARY 2, 2013) (REUTERS) - Ivorians started three days of national mourning on Wednesday (January 2) for the 61 people who were crushed to death in a stampede after a New Year's Eve fireworks display at a stadium in Ivory Coast's main city Abidjan.
People laid flowers at the site as investigators sifted through debris, and many called for an investigation into how this tragedy occurred.Witnesses said police had tried to control crowds around the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium following the celebrations, triggering a panic in which scores were trampled.
Around 200 people were also injured in the stampede.
"It's really disheartening, as a father, because we are all fathers. Fireworks are for joy, so that everyone is happy and have joy in their hearts. But if you come here and then you end up with deaths on your hands, it's truly unacceptable," said Mamadou Traore, anAbidjan resident.
The area around the stadium was still covered with patches of dried blood and abandoned shoes on Wednesday, as Ivorians demanded answers.
"We need an investigation, so we know exactly what happened, and then we need to take a decision so that we know who's at fault and punishment should be given. There must have been errors made on the security front, and the first aid too, because it took a long time for first aid to arrive. I think it should be established who is responsible for this and punishment given so that this doesn't happen again in the future," said Marcel Lebonon, a computer analyst from Abidjan.
Others say the government needs to find a solution to avoid huge crowds gathering again.
"In the future I think they should spread the fireworks across the city in the neighbourhoods, so that everybody has their fireworks where they are. That way we can avoid everybody gathering in the same place to watch them. The government should be able to better protect the population that way," said Hipolite Nguessan, who works as an accountant.
President Alassane Ouattara called the deaths a national tragedy and said an investigation was under way to find out what happened.
The country, once a stable economic hub for West Africa, is struggling to recover from a 2011 civil war in which more than 3,000 people were killed.
Ivory Coast's security forces once were among the best trained in the region, but a decade of political turmoil and the 2011 war has left them in disarray.
At least 18 people were killed in another stampede during a football match in an Abidjanstadium in 2009.