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Stampede mars Madiba's party
19/12/2004 23:14 - (SA)
Johannesburg - A stampede on Sunday marred Nelson Mandela's annual children's Christmas party in Qunu, which the veteran statesman did not attend due to the illness of his eldest son, police said.
"There are no injuries, no deaths, but the incident happened because of overcrowding," spokesperson Nondumiso Jafta said.
"We were told about 20 000 people were expected to turn up, but about plus or minus 50 000 came and formed huge queues," she said.
"People were jumping the queue for presents and food and they pushed others in front of them, who fell down and this led to chaos."
"The police deployed there could not do anything because their numbers were meant to control a crowd of 20 000, not 50 000," Jafta added.
Jafta said several children had been found abandoned after the melee, including a four-month-old baby. She said the only injury in the party was unrelated to the stampede and involved a man who was walking to the event and broke his leg in a fall.
Mandela was not present at his annual charity Christmas bash for the first time in 11 years because his son Makgatho is seriously ill in hospital.
Earlier Christmas parties staged by Mandela have drawn global celebrities such as US talk show star Oprah Winfrey.
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