The upcoming Gulf Cup final between Iraq and Oman has been marred by a tragedy on the eve of the opening match. According to the disclosure of foreign news, a stampede occurred outside the Palm Tree Stadium in Basra, which is located in the southern part of Iraq, due to the huge crowd. It is reported that the accident has resulted in at least two people tragically lost their lives and more than 80 people were injured.
Al Jazeera reported that the Palm Tree Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000, was sold out for the final. More than 60,000 fans gathered outside the stadium and many ticketless people had no choice but to wait outside the gates. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior issued a warning in advance advising those without tickets not to go to the stadium, but a large number of fans defied the warning and even slept on the streets overnight just to witness the event, surrounding the stadium.
However, just as the gates of the stadium were being closed, tragedy had struck. Thousands of people trampled on each other in the chaos, causing serious injuries and deaths. According to reports, the gates of the stadium remained closed at the time of the accident, and it was only after the accident that the media access gate was pushed open in an emergency, allowing people to escape.
