9 die in stampede at Ramadan festivity in Ghana

At least nine people died in Ghana during a stampede at festivities celebrating the end of Ramadan in Kumasi, the country’s second-largest city.

Mubarak Muntaka, Kumasi’s minister, said the incident happened on Thursday.

Survivors said the panic broke out around 2 m after electricity was cut to the venue, some 280 kilometres north of the capital Accra.

Muntaka said organisers of the gathering flouted security orders to end a carnival for the Muslim holiday eid-el-Fitr, when they relocated several kilometres away to the city’s Asawase community centre.

Witnesses said several people fell and were trampled on as others tried to escape the overcrowded venue through a small exit.

Up to 300 people had been at the community centre at the time of the stampede, Charles Amoah Boateng, a witness, told the Accra-based radio station Citifm.

Muntaka quoted people at the venue blaming the panic on a fight between two groups.

Police said they were investigating the incident.