At least one dead and dozens more injured after stampede outside Iraqi football stadium ahead of Gulf Cup final clash with Oman
- A huge crowd gathered since dawn in hope of watching the rare football match
- Horrifying footage emerged of the stampede at the front gates of the ground
- Some 60 people injured outside the stadium in Basra are in critical condition
One person was killed and dozens injured after a stampede broke out outside a football stadium in Iraq before the Arabian Gulf Cup final.
Thousands of fans gathered outside Iraq’s national football stadium in the southern city of Basra on Thursday, hours before the cup final was due to kick off at 7pm local time (1600 GMT).
Huge crowds had gathered since dawn in the hope of watching the rare home international match between Iraq and visitors Oman.
‘There has been one death and dozens of slight injuries,’ a medic said. An interior ministry official gave the same toll.
The Iraqi News Agency said some of the 60 people who were injured outside the Basra International Stadium are in critical condition.
Huge crowds had gathered since dawn in the hope of watching the rare home international match between Iraq and visitors Oman
Thousands of fans gathered outside Iraq’s national football stadium in the southern city of Basra on Thursday
‘A large number of fans, many of them without tickets, had gathered since first light to try to get in,’ the official said.
An AFP photographer said turnstiles to enter the stadium were still closed when the stampede broke out. Sirens blared as ambulances arrived to ferry the injured to hospital.
Thousands could be seen packed into a tight concourse as horrifying footage emerged on social media of the stampede at the front gates of the national stadium.
One video captured the sea of people waiting to enter the stadium as another alarming clip showed people sprawled across the road on top of one another following the incident.
Many screamed out for help after people had tumbled on top of one another. Others helped to try and free them from the pile of injured bodies.
An alarming clip showed people sprawled across the road on top of one another following the incident
Many screamed out for help after people had tumbled on top of one another
Iraq’s military, who had been stationed outside the ground, attempted to control the crowd and assist many of those who became mangled in the stampede.
A spokesperson for Iraq’s Ministry for Interior Major General Khaled Al-Mahna had warned fans this morning to stay away from the stadium to stave off a possible emergency.
Fans without tickets were instead asked to head to public areas where giant screens had been provided.
Iraq had been banned from hosting international football matches after decades of violence and political instability.
Thousands could be seen packed into a tight concourse as horrifying footage emerged on social media of the stampede at the front gates of the national stadium
Iraq’s military attempted to control the crowd and assist many of those who became mangled in the stampede
This was the first time since 1979 that Iraq hosted the Arabian Gulf Cup. It was intended to help the country improve its image after decades of violence and political instability.
But the country’s officials had already been forced to apologise after several organisational lapses.
Iraq was already forced to apologise to its neighbour Kuwait after a scuffle in the VIP section prevented its leader’s representative from attending the opening ceremony earlier this month.
The tournament started on January 6, with teams from the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries – Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates – as well as Yemen and Iraq.
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