The 2013 Houphouët-Boigny stampede was a

crowd crush Crowd collapses and crowd crushes are catastrophic incidents that can occur when a body of people becomes dangerously overcrowded. When numbers are up to about five people per square meter, the environment may feel cramped but manageable; when nu ...

that occurred as crowds departed a

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

fireworks display in the early hours of 1 January 2013 near the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

. It resulted in 61 deaths and over 200 injuries, mostly women and children. This was the second time in four years that a fatal crush incident occurred at the stadium. President

Alassane Ouattara Alassane Dramane Ouattara (; ; born 1 January 1942) is an Ivorian politician and economist who has been List of heads of state of Ivory Coast, President of Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) since 2010. An economist by profession, he worked for the I ...

declared three days of mourning and promised an investigation.

Incident

At some time between 1 and 4 am according to sources, following the

celebration and fireworks display, crowds surged as they exited the stadium into the Boulevard de la République near the Hotel Tirama. This was the second year that fireworks had been held by the government to commemorate the end of the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis and the

Second Ivorian Civil War The Second Ivorian Civil War broke out in March 2011 when the 2010–2011 Ivorian crisis, crisis in Ivory Coast escalated into full-scale military conflict between forces loyal to Laurent Gbagbo, the President of Ivory Coast since 2000, and supp ...

, following the controversial 2010 presidential election. According to official reports, 61 individuals were killed, with upwards of 200 injured. According to Alain Lobognon, the Minister of Youth, 26 children were among the dead, most of whom were between the ages of 8 and 15, as well as 28 women and six men.

Investigation and reaction

The cause of the disaster is not yet clear, however a senior police spokesman has confirmed they are investigating. Lieutenant Colonel Issa Sako, the officer in charge of the military responding to the incident, said that the deaths were caused when "people were walked over and suffocated by the crowd". According to an Ivorian government official, approximately "50,000 people

ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...

on the streets ... going home" after the New Year's celebrations. Witnesses have alternatively claimed that two large crowds moving in opposite directions collided, and that security forces attempting to break up the crowd leaving the stadium caused a panic. Visiting the injured in hospital, President Alassane Ouattara said that the national tragedy would be investigated. Minister of the Interior Hamed Bakayoko stated in a national television broadcast on

Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirienne Radiodiffusion-Télévision ivoirienne (RTI) is the publicly owned radio and television authority of Côte d'Ivoire. It is financed through a combination of Television license, television and radio licences, advertisements, and taxes. History The ...

that "the government extends its condolences to the families of those deceased and assures them of its solidarity" and that the Ivorian government would help by "all means possible." Bakayoko went on to say that "the precise circumstances of this tragic occurrence are being looked into by the security services".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Houphouet-Boigny Arena Stampede 2013 in Ivory Coast 2013 riots Human stampedes in 2013 Crowd collapses and crushes in stadiums Le Plateau, Abidjan Man-made disasters in Ivory Coast January 2013 in Africa Crowd collapses and crushes in Africa

Incident

Investigation and reaction

See also

References