Abu Dhabi and Baghdad
CNN
—
One person was killed and 60 others were injured in a stampede ahead of a football match in the Iraqi city of Basra on Thursday, the official INA news agency reported.
The stampede took place near the Jaza’a Al Nakhla stadium, where Iraq and Oman were due to play the Arab Gulf Cup final.
After the stampede, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said the gates to the stadium were now “closed” and no more fans would be allowed to enter, the Iraqi News Agency reported.
Iraqi police have asked non-ticket holders to refrain from going to the stadium to avoid traffic jams, INA said.
“The number of supporters is very large, and we don’t want there to be cases of choking and pressure to reinforce the security forces,” Iraqi police spokesman Sa’ad Ma’ said. year in a press release published on INA.
It is the first time Iraq has hosted the Gulf Cup since 1979, when it was held in the capital Baghdad.
Video sent to CNN showed fans seated inside the stadium after the stampede. Seats for Iraqi fans were completely full, while the section for Omani fans was empty, awaiting their arrival later in the day.
