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CAF chief criticises "inexplicable" decision that led to fatal AFCON crush

The president of CAF has criticised an "inexplicable" decision to keep a gate closed for the crus...



The president of CAF has criticised an "inexplicable" decision to keep a gate closed for the crush that killed eight people on Monday night. 

A stampede to enter the last-16 meeting of Cameroon and Comoros at the Africa Cup of Nations led to the deaths of eight people, and injuries to 38 more.

The crush occurred at the south entrance of the 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium in Cameroon's capital of Yaoundé.

Addressing the incident on Tuesday, CAF president Patrice Motsepe said, "If [the gate] was open, [fans] would have walked through and it was closed for inexplicable reasons.

"If that gate was open as it was supposed to we wouldn't have had this loss of life."

Motsepe said that such an incident "will never happen again" at an Africa Cup of Nations, adding that "there were things that should have been foreseen."

Cameroonian president Paul Biya has ordered an official investigation into the fatal incident.

The Olembe stadium was scheduled to host a quarter-final on Sunday, but that match has been moved to the smaller Ahmadou Ahidjo stadium - also in Yaoundé. One of the semi-finals, and the final are still slated for the Olembe.

Motsepe claimed that the idea of postponing the remainder of the tournament had not crossed CAF's mind, but they had briefly considered delaying Tuesday's last-16 games. They went ahead as planned, after minute's silences.

A Cameroon government statement read, "Facing this tragedy, the seriousness of which has provoked emotion and consternation, the Head of State [Paul Biya] sends his saddest condolences to the badly hit families, as well as his wishes of a speedy recovery to the injured, to whom he sends the profound compassion of the entire nation."

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Afcon Africa Cup Of Nations CAF Cameroon