Dozens Perish In Egypt Soccer Stampede

CAIRO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- A stampede by thousands of soccer fans after a match in Egypt Wednesday left at least 73 people dead and hundreds more injured, officials said.

Ahram Online reported the melee on the soccer field in Port Said occurred after the Masry team defeated the Ahly team 3-1 in Egyptian Premier League action.

Medhat el-Esnawy, manager of Port Said's El-Amiry hospital, said in a television interview 11 deaths were recorded at his hospital, 25 at two other hospitals and three at the soccer stadium, the online news site said.

"Some died of stampede and others died of suffocation," el-Esnawy said.

Ahly's players expressed fear for their safety in phone calls to the club's in-house TV station.

"The security forces left us, they did not protect us," veteran player Mohamed Abou-Treika was quoted as saying. "One fan has just died in the dressing room in front of me."

Midfielder Mohamed Barakat also said he saw corpses.

"There are no security forces or army personnel to protect us," he said. "It is our fault because we played that match. The authorities are afraid to cancel the league because they just care about money, they do not care about the lives of people."

Ahram said thousands of Masry fans stormed the field following the final whistle and chased Ahly players and support staff, who fled. The fans then clashed with Ahly's fans as the riot erupted.

The incident prompted the cancellation of Zamalek's league game against Ismaily in Cairo at halftime, and a fire was reported at one of Cairo's four stadiums, Ahram Online said.