NewYears' } 60 Crushed to Death in Ivory Coast Stampede

New Year's horror as 61 people including 26 children crushed to death and dozens hurt in stampede at Ivory Coast fireworks display

• Dead included 26 children, 28 women and six men, says Ivory Coast minister
• Security 'triggered panic' when they arrived to break up crowd in Abidjan
• Tragedy happened at 2am near stadium in the Plateau district of the city

[[[[[[[By SIMON TOMLINSON]]]]][

[It is said this was a vigil organized by a pentecostal church]

At least 61 people were crushed to death in a stampede at a New Year's Eve fireworks display in Ivory Coast's main city of Abidjan, authorities said today.

The incident happened outside the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium at about 2am in the Plateau district of the city.

The dead included 26 children, 28 women and six men, according to Minister of Youth Alain Lobognon after visiting the hospital morgue.

Dominique Ouattara (left), wife of President of The Ivory Coast Alassane Ouattara, stands next to a child who injured in a stampede which has killed at least 61 people at firework's display in Abidjan

Horrific: Some of injured children being treated after the stampede which killed as many as 26 yougsters

One of the injured people said security forces had arrived to break up the crowd, triggering a panic in which many people fell over and were trampled

Initial reports said a further 200 people had been injured, but Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko later said the figure was closer to 40.

The official AIP news agency earlier said the victims were all children, ranging from eight to 15 years old.

  CNN and Daily MailUK

One of the injured, speaking at a hospital, said security forces had arrived to break up the crowd, triggering a panic in which many people fell over and were trampled.

Carnage: Guards stand next to clothing and other items strewn on the ground after the stampede outside the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium

Chaos: A further 200 people were injured in the crush went the fireworks display spiralled out of control

Clear-up operation: UN peacekeepers stand on a street in Abidjan as shoes and various items are seen on the pavement at the scene of a stampede

A Reuters correspondent said blood stains and abandoned shoes littered the scene outside the stadium on Tuesday morning.

'My two children came here yesterday. I told them not to come but they didn't listen. They came when I was sleeping. What will I do?' said Assetou Toure, a cleaner.

Horrendous: A view of a street in Plateau district where a stampede occurred after a New Year's Eve fireworks display on January 1, 2013

Stunned: Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara shakes hands with a woman as he visits the scene of the stampede

She did not know if her children had escaped unhurt.

The incident was the worst of its kind in Abidjan since 2010, when a stampede at a stadium during a football match killed 18 people.

Ivory Coast, once a stable economic hub for West Africa, is struggling to recover from a 2011 civil war in which more than 3,000 people were killed.