Eight people were killed and nine others injured in a crush during an evangelical gathering held on Saturday at the Senior Technical School of Kamenge in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The event, which attracted thousands of worshippers, featured prominent Burundian preacher Chris Ndikumana, leader of the Kanguka (Wake Up) ministry.
According to eyewitnesses and police, the incident occurred late at night as worshippers attempted to leave the venue after the service had ended.
A wall at the exit gate reportedly collapsed as the crowd surged towards the exit, causing several people to fall and become trapped in the crush.
“There were so many people and everyone wanted to leave at the same time. It was late at night,” a teacher at the Senior Technical School of Kamenge told AFP.
In a statement, Burundi police said King Khaled Hospital in Bujumbura recorded six fatalities; five females and one male, while four injured persons were receiving treatment at the facility.
Police added that two other deaths were recorded at a military hospital, where five additional injured persons were admitted for treatment.
According to the police, only two of the victims sustained visible physical injuries, while the remaining casualties showed no signs of trauma, suggesting that suffocation was the likely cause of death and injuries.
Neither Chris Ndikumana nor the organisers of the event had publicly commented on the incident at the time of reporting.
Ndikumana, whose YouTube channel has more than one million subscribers, is known for leading large evangelical gatherings across several African countries. Some of his followers believe he is able to heal diseases through prayer.
Crowd crushes have occurred at religious gatherings in several African countries in recent years.
In 2020, at least 20 people died during an outdoor religious service in neighbouring Tanzania after worshippers rushed forward to receive blessed oil.
In 2022, 31 people were killed in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, during a church food distribution exercise, while at least 29 people, including 11 children, died in a crush following an evangelical gathering in Liberia the same year.
SOURCE: BBC Africa