Rowdy sports fans trying to enter Madagascar’s national stadium for the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games caused a stampede which killed 12 and injured about 80.
Prime Minister Christian Ntsay said on Friday that 11 of the injured were in a critical condition.
Videos on social media showed Red Cross workers tending to dozens of injured people at the scene.
The cause of the stampede is yet to be established, however at least 15 people died in a similar incident at the Mahamasina stadium in 2019.
“An unfortunate event happened. There was a stampede at the entrance. There were a lot of injuries. We will observe a few seconds of silence because compatriots have died when they wanted to enter,” President Andry Rajoelina told the crowd in the stadium.
After the silence, the event went on with a laser show and fireworks.
Athletes from Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mayotte, Reunion and the Maldives participate in the Indian Ocean Island Games created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1977.