Yaoundé stadium disaster

On 24 January 2022, at least eight people were killed in a crowd crush at the south entrance of Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The incident occurred as fans were attempting to enter the arena to watch a football match between Cameroon and the Comoros at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.^[1][2]

Yaoundé stadium disaster

The stadium 15 days before the disaster
Date	24 January 2022
Venue	Olembe Stadium
Location	Yaoundé, Cameroon
Coordinates	03°57′03″N 11°32′26″E
Deaths	8
Non-fatal injuries	38

Details

Before the fourth match in the knockout stage between hosts Cameroon and the Comoros, which kicked off at 20:00 on 24 January 2022 at the Olembe Stadium, a crush developed at the south entrance to the stadium. Security officers directed fans towards a locked entrance gate. When the gate was opened, a surge of people came through and trampled each other, killing eight. 38 others were injured, with seven in critical condition.^[3]

Aftermath

Following the event, the quarter-final match scheduled to take place at Olembe Stadium the following week was relocated to Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium.^[1]

See also

• Yaoundé nightclub fire, which happened the previous day
• Gelora Bandung Lautan Api crowd crush, similar disaster happened in Indonesia
• Crowd collapses and crushes § Crowd "stampedes"

References

1. Kouam, Joel; McCluskey, Mitchell; Klosok, Aleks (24 January 2022). "AFCON: Report into deadly stadium crush will focus on who closed gate that led to loss of lives". CNN. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
2. "Afcon 2021: Quarter-final at Olembe Stadium to be moved after fatal crush". BBC Sport. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
3. Wilson, Jonathan; Ames, Nick (25 January 2022). "'Why did people have to die?': Cameroon mourns after stadium tragedy". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2022.