At least nine people were killed, most of them children and teenagers, in a stampede during a New Year’s Eve celebration in Uganda. After fireworks in front of a shopping center in the south of the capital Kampala, there was a crowd, said police spokesman Luke Owoyesigyire on Sunday. Five people died instantly and four others died on the way to the hospital. Most victims suffocated.
Numerous other people were injured, according to police. A police spokesman called “imprudence and negligence” as the cause of the accident.
Eyewitness Sylvia Nakalema said the stampede erupted “as we were watching the fireworks on the terrace and on our way back down.” In the crowd, people started “pushing each other,” and several people fell to the ground. Children cried, chaos reigned.
She survived because she was pushed into a corner by the crowd. Later she saw people gasping for air on the floor. Television footage showed grieving families outside a Kampala morgue.
The New Year’s Eve celebrations in Uganda were the first in the East African country after a two-year break due to the corona pandemic.