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7 People dead several injured as Immigration Job seekers stampede in Abuja

Published

10 years ago

March 15, 2014

At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in
Nigeria’s capital after thousands of panicked job-seekers stampeded
during a government recruitment drive in the national stadium on
Saturday.
Survivors told AFP that thousands had gathered to apply for jobs
with the immigration department in the Abuja stadium.
One witness said the stampede broke out as applicants surged towards
a central stage. They said only one entrance to the 60,000-capacity
stadium was open. It wasn’t clear how many people were inside at
the time of the crush.
“The immigration service was having a recruitment exercise at the
stadium … there was a stampede and they brought the victims to the
national hospital,” said hospital spokesman Tayo Haastrup.
No official casualty list was given, but an AFP journalist on the
scene counted seven dead and dozens injured.
Many injured people could not be admitted to hospital due to lack of
capacity.
Those with stable injuries “will be sent to other hospitals so that we
can deal with the numerous injured that continue to arrive,” said
Haastrup