Mali stampede in Bamako 'kills dozens'

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At least 30 people have been killed in a stampede at a stadium in the Malian capital of Bamako, officials say.

Seventy others were injured in the incident, which occurred at the end of a sermon given by imam Osman Madani Haidara.

The stampede happened at the Modibo Keita Stadium, which seats 25,000.

The crowd reportedly wanted to be blessed by the imam after the speech, made on the festival of Maouloud, the Prophet Muhammad's birthday.

Most of the dead were crushed against metal fencing as they waited, Mali's minister of interior security and civil protection said.

Relatives gathered at the Gabriel Toure Hospita, trying to find out information about the dead and wounded.

"I've already had it confirmed that my aunt died," Sidiki Coulibaly told the Associated Press news agency.

"We are now trying to find out what happened to her daughter. She's just 10 years old. They go to this event together every year."

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