Ivory Coast opens stampede probe

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The authorities in the Ivory Coast have opened an inquiry into a stampede at a football match on Sunday which left 19 people dead and more than 130 injured.

President Laurent Gbagbo said the cause needed to be known to prevent such a tragedy happening again.

Mr Gbagbo also announced three days of national mourning.

The stampede occurred when a wall collapsed at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium shortly before a World Cup qualifier match.

Following a special cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Guillaume Soro said he had advised Mr Gbagbo to establish a committee to "study, analyse and take account of all the failings that can lead to such tragic events".

He said the committee would "carry out a security audit of the Felix Houphouet-Boigny stadium, to investigate the ticket system and assess all the physical conditions" that may have led to the stampede.

On Monday, Ivorian officials blamed ticketless fans for the crush, saying they had tried to force their way into the stadium.

We thought that maybe the referee would ask us to pay one minute's silence, but nothing was said, so we just carried on Elvis Kafoteka, Malawi player

But some fans said security forces had fired tear gas on the crowds, creating panic.

Correspondents say it seems that the sheer number of people who wanted to get into the match proved too much.

Earlier on Tuesday, a member of the Malawi team told the BBC his side had been aware of the deaths before playing the game.

"We thought that maybe the referee would ask us to pay one minute's silence, but nothing was said, so we just carried on," said defender Elvis Kafoteka.

The world's football governing body, Fifa, has called for a minute's silence to be held before international matches on Tuesday and Wednesday, as "a mark of respect for the African football family and in memory of the persons who lost their lives".