Tens injured in stampede for final's tickets

الأربعاء، 08 فبراير 2006 - 22:38

كتب : وكالات

Egyptian supporters waiting for tickets for the African Cup final

Ahmad Saied & Ahmed Maher: Some 25 people were taken to hospital on Wednesday after being injured during a stampede to book tickets for the African Cup of Nations final match, medics said.

Several people lost conscious and others sustained minor injuries while an official in the ticket-selling committee suffered a mild stroke but everybody was treated on the spot, Mostafa Abdullah, a doctor and an organizing-committee volunteer told FilGoal.com.

Abdullah, however, rejected reports saying that many people were dead and stressed that some casualties were hospitalized to avoid any health set-backs.

Egyptian supporters, estimated to be around 15,000, gathered at the International Fairs Arena in Nasr City suburb since Wednesday dawn to buy tickets but many of them failed to get any.

An eyewitness told FilGoal.com that thugs surrounded the selling booth and managed to buy the majority of the tickets in order to sell them later in the black market.

Host nation Egypt, supported by more than 75,000 fans in every game since the tournament started, will play Ivory Coast in the African Cup final on Friday seeking their fifth African title in history.

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