Students and three others perish after Kotoko-Hearts match

It has now confirmed that four football fans including a student suffocated to death at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Sunday during the Ninth Week titanic encounter between Kumasi Asante Kotoko and Accra Hearts of Oak in the Glo Premier League.

Master Bruce Oteng, a student of the Winneba Campus of the University of Education together with three others yet to be identified died on the when they were been rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital following severe suffocation which made them collapse in the over-crowded stands.

Scores of fans also collapsed in the heated stands and were brought unto the tartan tracks to be resuscitated by para-medics before they were rushed to the hospital for medical attention.

Master Oteng and the three others however could not make it and were pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

Information gathered by GNA Sports indicated that the stadium was full beyond its normal capacity of 40,194 persons.

A visit later to the hospital on Monday morning saw a crowd of anxious people gathered in front of the hospital’s mortuary to see whether their relatives or loved ones were among the victims.

Mr Ernest Abban, Administrative Manager in Charge of Public Relations Unit of the Komfo Anokye Hospital told the GNA Sports that four other football fans were also admitted but one of them was treated and discharged this Monday morning.

Meanwhile at the time of filing the report officials of the Premier League Board had visited the hospital to seek confirmation of the number of deaths and those on admission.