Johannesburg - Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has extended deepest condolences to the families of the people who died during a stampede at the Carling Black Label Chiefs vs Pirates soccer match at the FNB Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
"The cause of the stampede is under investigation by the South African Police Service (SAPS). The city’s emergency management services (EMS), 100 Johannesburg metro police department (JMPD) officers, and disaster management unit are on site," he said.
All gates had been opened to ensure crowd control and the game proceeded without any further incident. The city would work with the SAPS to ensure that the cause of the tragedy was investigated.
"This sad loss of life at such a highly anticipated event is indeed a tragedy and the city will work with all the relevant authorities to prevent tragedies such as this in future," Mashaba said.
The stampede was believed to have taken place outside the stadium while the match was already well underway. As such, the match was completed with many unaware of the disaster, until various reports starting flooding in just before full-time.
Two people died and 17 were injured, one critically and 16 with minor injuries, during a turnstile stampede.