As many as eight people including a 14-year-old boy were trampled to death in a stampede Monday night when football fans forced their way into the Olembe Stadium before the AFCON fixture between hosts Cameroon and Comoros.
The stampede cast a shadow over the capital Yaoundé, with many fans only finding out about the tragedy after the game in which Cameroon defeated the Islanders 2-1. About 50 fans were hurt,15 of them seriously.
The tournament organiser, the Confederation of African Football (CAF), sent condolences to the families of the deceased and a delegation has been dispatched to visit the 15 injured football fans in hospital.
A probe has begun as to what triggered the stampede at the outer perimeter fence.
As for the game itself, Comoros put a gallant fight after they were reduced to 10 men in the 7th minute after captain Jimmy Abdou was shown a straight red card inside seven minutes.
The hosts huffed and puffed before they eventually hit the net twice. Karl Toko Ekambi and Vincent Aboubakar scored for the home team.
Even without a regular goalkeeper owing to Covid-19 positive tests, Comoros was a handful. Left-back Chaker Alhadhur wore the gloves and did his bit to keep the Indomitable Lions out.
At times Alhadhur joined other defenders in the passing buildup from the back venturing way out of his goal as he did so. Alhadhur also made diving saves.
The islanders never gave up on attacking and they were rewarded nine minutes from the end when Youssouf MChangama scored a stunning free-kick.
Cameroon are through to the quarter-finals.
