Five of the worst disasters in football history

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4. The Oppenheimer Stadium disaster

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RWC VENUE ELLIS PARK
Present day Ellis Park Stadium

Date: April 11th, 2001

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Location: Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa

On April 11th, 2001, a Soweto Derby game between the Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates witnessed thousands of spectators pouring into the Ellis Park Stadium. While there were already about 60,000 fans in the stadium, another 30,000 fans were still trying to enter. That day, a staggering 120,000 fans were admitted despite the lesser stadium capacity.

This, unfortunately, resulted in a stampede that crushed 43 people to death. Untrained security guards, unable to control the crowds, started firing tear gas at the crowd, causing further chaos and panic, worsening the situation.

The incident is believed to be the worst sporting disaster in South African history, beating out the Orkney incident where 42 people died after fans who were trying to escape the stadium brawls were trampled or crushed to death against riot-control fences.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram
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