At least nine people died, most aged between 10 and 20, in a shopping mall crush as party-goers rang in the New Year in Uganda’s capital, Uganda police said on Sunday.
French news agency – Agence France Presse quotes Uganda Police Spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire as saying the stampede ensued after fireworks outside Freedom City Mall in Kampala, “resulting in the instant deaths of five people and injuries to several others.”
Owoyesigyire said four others died on their way to hospital due to suffocation.
“Most of the dead were juveniles, ages 10, 11, 14 and 20,” Kampala police spokesperson, Patrick Onyango told AFP.
“There are several injured and our team of investigators are following up to get the exact number.”
One of the survivors, businesswoman Sylvia Nakalema, told Africanews that the stampede started “when we went to view the fireworks on the platform and while returning downstairs”.
“There was a huge crowd. People begun pushing each other for space leading some to fall and the stampede ensued,” she said.