Seven spectators and a police officer were killed in a stampede during a sold-out concert by African music star Fary Ipupa at the largest stadium in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, police chief said. He told the official news agency ACP on Sunday.
“Eight people were killed, including one policeman,” General Sylvain Sasongo said.
The Martyrs’ Stadium holds 80,000 people and was reportedly completely packed to local favorites, with one witness saying that “even the corridors” of the stadium were overflowing.
“It was a stampede,” a police officer at the scene told the Congolese state news agency. “Music lovers choked.”
An agency that had reporters at the stadium covering the concert said police had cordoned off three areas to secure the pitch, the VIP stands and the stage.
“Under the pressure of the crowd, the police could not hold out for long,” the ACP said.
Singer-songwriter Fari Ipupa, “like all Congolese singers,” arrived hours after the show was scheduled to begin, the agency noted.
The 44-year-old Kinshasa-born is one of Africa’s leading musicians, with albums sold all over the world.
