In one of the worst tragedies to hit the impoverished nation in recent memory, 37 people were crushed to death in a stadium in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, officials said on Tuesday.
The young people had answered an appeal to enlist in the army in Central Africa, and they had been told to report to the Michel d'Ornano stadium in Brazzaville to sign up.
Thousands of young people were inside the stadium on Monday night when a crush happened as people pushed through a gate, according to security officials who wished to remain anonymous.
37 people had died in the "tragedy," according to Prime Minister Anatole Collinet Makosso, and an unknown number had been injured.
"A crisis unit has been set up under the authority of the prime minister," said a statement.
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A 24-year-old, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP there was a stampede due to people shoving to open the gate.
"There were people with far worse injuries than me," the foot-dislocated survivor remarked.
"There was a row of people in front of me," stated another survivor, who also asked to remain anonymous. Everyone there collapsed. Other friends and I both collapsed on top of each other."
Numerous videos circulated on social media purportedly depicted dozens of deceased bodies placed in a city morgue.
Others featured wounded individuals being admitted to Brazzaville hospitals.
Adelard Yvon Bonda, a morgue official, reported that family members had identified 32 bodies.
"We must first of all pay our respects to the memory of those who have just left us," he stated.
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This is a circumstance that developed. Although it wasn't provoked, Bonda noted that it occurred because young people need jobs.
The head of a local rights NGO, Tresor Nzila, demanded a thorough investigation and held the Congolese government accountable for failing to consider the dangers of a call-up.
"The Congolese government is incapable of creating other employment opportunities," he stated. "The defence and security forces have become the main job providers" .
Despite having abundant oil and gas reserves, the Republic of Congo, also referred to as Congo-Brazzaville to differentiate it from its larger neighbor, the Democratic Republic of Congo, is a poor nation of roughly five million people.
According to the World Bank, the country's youth unemployment rate is approximately 42%.
Andre Ngakala Oko, the state prosecutor for Congo-Brazzaville, announced the start of an investigation.
In the Congo, stampedes are commonplace. In 2011, a stampede at a music festival in Brazzaville claimed the lives of seven people.
And in 1994, when worshippers crowded into a church to avoid a storm, at least 150 people were trampled to death in the capital.
