Covid restrictions meant that not everyone who wanted to attend was able to enter the stadium
At least eight people are believed to have been killed and dozens injured in a crash outside an Africa Cup of Nations match in Cameroon.
Video footage shows football fans struggling to access the Paul Biya stadium in a district of the capital Yaoundé.
A child is among the dead, according to a health ministry report obtained by the AFP news agency.
Another report indicated that a number of children had lost consciousness.
The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but due to Covid restrictions it was not supposed to be more than 80% full.
Match officials reportedly said some 50,000 people were trying to attend.
Journalist Leocadia Bongben was at the game. She told the BBC’s Newsday program that she saw commotion coming from one of the “fan zone” areas outside the stadium.
“People started shouting. A minute later an ambulance arrived at the stadium, but when we got to the place, the police didn’t allow us to get close to where the stampede was taking place,” she said.
She had received a list of eight people who lost their lives, she said.
“It’s really a pretty sad situation that people go and watch a game and they end up dying there.”
Nick Cavell, a BBC Africa producer, was present at the match and said news of the crush did not seem to filter through the crowd until there were reports on social media.
Many discarded shoes and other debris were strewn around the entrance to the stadium, he said.
Nurse Olinga Prudence told AP that some of the injured were in “desperate condition”.
The Confederation of African Football, CAF, said in a statement that it was “currently investigating the situation and trying to obtain more details on what happened”.
The last game of the round of 16 of the day between Cameroon and Comoros went ahead despite the incident and ended in a 2–1 victory for the host team.
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