KAMPALA: At least nine people, including a 10-year-old kid, have been killed due to a stampede during New Year’s fireworks display in a small hallway in a mall close to the capital of Uganda, Al Jazeera reported citing the police officials.
Just after midnight, according to the police, people began pressing through a tunnel in the Freedom City Mall in Kampala.
“Many people got stuck as they were entering in large numbers to see fireworks. In doing so, many people suffocated to death. So far nine people are confirmed dead,” the police statement said, according to Al Jazeera.
At the mall, which is located on a route connecting Kampala to Entebbe International Airport, people had been ringing in the New Year.
The East African country notably held its first New Year’s festivities after limitations related to the COVID-19 outbreak after security issues were eased. (ANI)