Ivory Coast's minister of the interior has announced on state TV that at least 22 people died and 132 were wounded in a stampede before a World Cup qualifying match in the capital's main stadium.
Desire Tagro said the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan was overrun with people who pushed against each other, setting off the panic that led to the stampede ahead of the Ivory Coast v Malawi World Cup qualifier today.
The incident is reported to have taken place before kick-off, although the game went ahead, with the Ivorians winning 5-0. The stadium, which is named after Ivory Coast's first president and has a capacity of around 50,000, was sold out in advance of the game after cut-price tickets were put on sale.
Dagobert Banzio, Ivory Coast's sports minister, had appealed for strong public support for Vahid Halilhodzic's team ahead of the match.
the disaster occurred at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan.  A stadium disaster has claimed well over a dozen lives in the Ivory Coast. A crush, which may have occurred after a wall collapse, took place today at the  in  and according to interior minister  killed 22 people and wounded 132 others.

Different sources put the dead at 19. "We have 19 dead and many seriously injured," a member of the military told ''''. The Sports Minister gave this version of events: "Spectators who did not buy tickets were jostling before the match. They smashed one of the main gates of the stadium. They were trampled." Tagro also said that fans trying to get in were crushed.

According to '''', a wall collapse caused the fatalities while the injured were hurt when pushing spectators caused a panic which became a stampede. 50,000 people had turned up to watch a qualifying match for the football  between  and . The ''Associated Press'' also said that police used tear gas in an effort to control the crowd.

The match was sold out due to low-price tickets. The game went ahead despite the pre-match incident and the Ivory Coast side won 5-0.