A Happy New Year
to all readers. Sadly, 2013 got off to
a very unhappy start in the Ivory Coast’s biggest city, Abidjan, where 64
people were killed at a fireworks party at the national football stadium. Another 49 were injured.
According to
reports, a deadly crush developed at about one o’ clock in the morning when one
group of partygoers tried to leave the event just as crowds of others were arriving. At least 28 of those killed are said to have
been under 15.
The authorities
have said that 5,000 extra security personnel had been drafted in, as many people
went along to the event to celebrate what they saw as the country’s return to
peace following months of violence after a disputed election in 2010.
The government
has announced an inquiry, while the opposition has called on the Interior
Minister to resign. About 20 people were
killed in a stampede at an international football match at the same stadium in
2009. (See my blog of March 30, 2009.)
*My book Disaster! has just been published in
paperback in the USA - http://www.amazon.com/Disaster-History-Earthquakes-Plagues-Catastrophes/dp/1620871815/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1356715794&sr=1-2&keywords=disaster+withington
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