Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Eight people have now died after a stampede outside a game at the African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Cameroon, as witnesses blamed security officials for errors while news footage showed fans climbing over fences earlier to bypass checks and get into the stadium.
Another seven people are in serious condition in the hospital after the crush, authorities said Tuesday.
The death toll increased after two more fans were pronounced dead outside the Messassi hospital, police said. Injured people had initially been rushed to that nearby hospital by police and civilians trying to help. The hospital quickly became overwhelmed and said it couldn't handle all the casualties.
A total of 38 people were hurt in the stampede, which happened Monday night at the Olembe Stadium in the Cameroon capital of Yaounde. The remaining 31 people had light to moderate injuries. The injured are now being treated at four different hospitals, Communication Minister Rene Sadi said.
The crush came when soccer fans struggled to get into the stadium to watch Cameroon's team play Comoros in a highly-anticipated knockout game at Africa's top soccer tournament. The tragedy may have been connected to fans trying to avoid COVID-19 checks. Local organizers have made it compulsory that fans show proof of negative virus tests and be vaccinated against COVID-19 if they want to attend games at the African Cup. They need to go through that health screening as well as security checks at stadiums.
Local TV stations broadcast footage showing people jumping over security fences to get into the game and there are reports that police were overwhelmed. The Cameroon government said 57,000 people were at the stadium when the crowd was meant to be restricted to a maximum of 40,000 because of the virus. The Olembe has a capacity of 60,000.
A witness said the stampede at the south entrance of the stadium happened after supporters were directed by security officials toward an entrance gate that was locked. The gate was eventually opened, the witness said, causing a surge and people were trampled. Children were caught up in the stampede, the witness said.
"When the security guys finally began opening the gates, with all the anxiety and after having been locked out ... people pushed the security guys away and forced themselves inside," said the witness, Marie-Therese Asongafack. "That's where it all began ... By the time I found myself in front, there were people on the ground being trampled on."
Medical help wasn't immediately available, "so people were just trying their basic first aid on victims," Asongafack said. "I saw a child less than 10 years old, lifeless. Guys were trying to revive him."
World soccer body FIFA released a statement expressing its "deepest condolences" to the families and friends of the victims. FIFA president Gianni Infantino attended the African Cup's opening ceremony at the Olembe Stadium two weeks ago.
African soccer confederation president Patrice Motsepe called an urgent news conference for later Tuesday.
Cameroon President Paul Biya ordered an investigation into the tragedy, which came a day after at least 17 people died after a fire set off a series of explosions at a nightclub in Yaounde.
The central African nation is hosting the African Cup for the first time in 50 years and its preparations have been under scrutiny for years. Cameroon was meant to host the tournament in 2019 but that year's event was taken away and awarded to Egypt because of serious problems with Cameroon's preparations, especially in and around stadiums.
The Olembe Stadium, the main stadium for the tournament and the venue for the Feb. 6 final, was one of the arenas that organizers were concerned about. Games are also being played in four other cities.
Cameroon's Minister of Public Health, Manaouda Malachie, visited the different hospitals where the injured were being treated. He said that 31 of the 38 injured people were responding well to treatment but the others were in serious condition.
On Tuesday morning, people gathered at the hospitals searching for missing family members.
"I am helpless. The police have not been of any help and I have not been able to trace my two brothers," said Festus Ndi, a 24-year old student at the University of Yaounde.
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Winnipeg police say they have arrested two people in their 20s after a large amount of explosives were found in a home outside of Winnipeg, Man.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Spain scrapped an annual bullfighting award on Friday, prompting a rebuke from conservatives over a backlash against a centuries-old tradition they see as an art form but which has run into growing concern for animal welfare.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.