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Crush at Madagascar’s national stadium kills 13

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At least 13 people, including seven children, were killed in a crowd crush on Friday at a stadium in Madagascar’s capital of Antananarivo.

The crowd crush occurred at the entrance to the Barea stadium, where about 50,000 spectators had arrived to attend the opening ceremony of the Indian Ocean Island Games.

“So far, 13 people have been killed and 107 injured,” opposition MP Hanitra Razafimanantsoa said.

The Red Cross, which sent teams to the scene of the incident, added: “We don’t yet have the final list. Seven minors died.”

Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina, who was present at the opening ceremony, called for a minute’s silence.

“A tragic event occurred because there was pushing. There were injuries and deaths at the entrance,” he said in a televised speech.

TV images showed dazed and shocked people trying to locate their shoes piled among the objects lost in the crush. Other images from inside the stadium, shared on social media, showed the stands packed with spectators.

Prime Minister Christian Ntsay visited a hospital in Antananarivo where victims were taken.

The cause of the tragedy was not immediately known.

The Indian Ocean Island Games are a multidisciplinary competition that will be held in Madagascar until September 3.

They have been staged every four years in different islands in the south-west Indian Ocean for about 40 years. The previous event took place in Mauritius.

The Barea stadium, the largest on the island, suffered a similar disaster in 2019, when at least 16 people were killed and dozens injured during a concert marking the country’s national holiday. 

(The National News)

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SLARDA decides not to support SLAS

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Sri Lanka Association of Racing Drivers And Riders (SLARDAR) has decided not to participate in any future competition organized by the Sri Lanka Automobile Sports (SLAS), reports say.

The decision follows the SLAS’ failure to back the racing drivers at the tragic Fox Hill Supercross accident last month.

The crash occurred shortly after another car overturned on the track, leading to another car veering off and hitting spectators along the unguarded trackside. The incident led to the deaths of 07 persons while injuring 23 more.

The racing drivers were arrested while being hospitalised and were subsequently produced before courts and remanded.

Lawyers appearing before the drivers had pointed out that provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act or the Criminal Procedure Code do not apply to motor vehicle competitions and when the case was taken up again the Bandarawela Magistrate had warned the Diyatalawa Police over treating the motor race accident as a mere road mishap when preparing the charge sheet. The drivers were subsequently granted bail.

It is reported that the Diyatalawa police had acted in this manner over influence from higher authorities to cover up the mistake of the organizers.

Although the Sri Lanka Army had appointed a 7-member committee to investigate the incident while the SLAS too appointed a three-member independent board of inquiry to investigate the tragedy, the reports are yet to be received.

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Man who held 2 children hostage, remanded

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A man who was arrested over holding two children hostage yesterday (March 05), has been remanded until May 17, reports say.

The children were rescued by the STF after a nine-hour operation.

The suspect had come with a hand grenade to kill his wife who was living at the Government Servants Housing Complex in Jalthara last evening and took the children hostage.

The two children had been admitted to the Homagama Hospital as the suspect had injected them with something.

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Applications called for member vacancies at OMP

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The applications should be prepared in accordance with the information sheet which is available in www.parliament.lk with a quick link named Appointment of the members to OMP, and the duly completed applications should be sent on or before May 27, 2024.

Applications should be sent to; ‘Secretary-General to the Constitutional Council, Constitutional Council – Office, Parliament of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte by registered post or by email to [email protected].

Indicate ‘Appointment of Members to the OMP’ on the top left-hand corner of the envelope, or as the subject of the email.

Link :  https://www.parliament.lk/en/secretariat/advertisements/view/305

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