Guinea concert stampede 'kills 34'

 

At least 34 people have reportedly died in a stampede in Guinea, during a concert marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

 

The president's office declared a week of national mourning for what it called a "tragic drama" at the concert by the Guinean rap group Instinct Killers. Dozens of people were injured, said police sources quoted by AFP.

The concert took place on Tuesday evening on a beach in Ratoma, a northern suburb of the capital Conakry. A medical source at Donka hospital in the capital told Reuters that the number of injured continued to rise.

"There are currently 34 bodies in the morgue. The list of injured keeps growing. The oldest among them can't be more than 20. There are young girls among them," he added.

The authorities were "shocked by the tragic drama caused by mass movements at a cultural event," said a statement from the president's office.

The head of a government body for entertainment has been sacked following the incident, the statement added.

Eyewitnesses said there were up to 10,000 people, mostly young people, at the beach event. Correspondents say this is not the first incident of this kind in Guinea. Last January, six people were killed on another beach of the Conakry suburb during a reggae concert.