Two die in South Africa football stadium crush

JOHANNESBURG: Two people were killed in a crush of football fans on Saturday at the South African stadium that hosted the 2010 World Cup final, police and officials said.

The incident occurred at a pre-season local derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, the country’s most popular teams, both from Soweto.“I can confirm the death of two people,” police spokeswoman Lorraine van Emmerik, told AFP.

She said several other people had also been injured when “a rolling mass of people were trying to get into the stadium” south of Johannesburg.In a statement cited by an online football website KickOff, the match sponsors also confirmed “two fatalities caused by blunt force trauma”.

They said one fan was critically injured and 16 other spectators suffered minor injuries.Match tickets were sold out two weeks before the game. Local media reports suggested fake tickets had gone on sale, while some analysts said fans have a tendency to enter stadiums late. —AFP