'73 die' in Egypt football clashes

At least 73 people have died in clashes after a football match in Egypt, state TV says.

Rival fans flooded onto the pitch, hurling stones and sticks at each other and sparking a stampede.

One thousand other people were injured, the Health Ministry said.

A medical official said some of the dead were security officers.

Egypt’s state prosecutor has ordered an immediate investigation into the causes of the deaths.

Witnesses say most appeared to have occurred in a stampede after fans of the home team, Al-Masry, stormed on to the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly, Egypt’s top team.

They then chased players and fans from Al-Ahly.

The clashes happened in the Mediterranean port city of Port Said.

State TV showed footage in which the Al-Ahly players were seen rushing for their changing room as fights broke out among the hundreds of fans swarming on to the field. Some men had to rescue a manager from the losing team as he was being beaten. Black-clothed police officers stood by, appearing overwhelmed.

Egypt’s state prosecutor ordered an immediate investigation into the violence, and the Egypt Football Association ordered an indefinite suspension of the annual championship. The parliament said it would convene an emergency session.

State TV reported the casualty toll, citing a health ministry official. A medic in the Port Said morgue gave the same figures and said some of the dead in the clashes were security officers.

It was the deadliest incident of football violence since October 16 1996, when at least 78 people died and 180 others were injured in a stampede at a stadium in Guatemala City before a World Cup qualifying match between Guatemala and Costa Rica.

One witness said people threw stones, sticks and bottles at their rivals and injured some players.

He said the atmosphere was already tense on the field before the game as one Al-Ahly fan raised a banner insulting supporters of the home team.

The players were later taken to the changing room for protection, Sayed Hamdi, an Al-Ahly player, told state TV. “It was an atmosphere of terrorism,” said Hamdi.

Hesham Sheiha, a health ministry official, told state TV, most of the deaths were caused by concussion, deep cuts to the head and suffocation from the stampede.