KHARTOUM, July 13: A stampede killed 23 people at a Sudanese football stadium on Sunday as a graduation ceremony for youth embarking on their national service was being held, said police and hospital officials.

“Crowds trying to get into Khartoum stadium led to the deaths of 23 people.

The majority of them are women and children, and 36 people were injured who are now in Omdurman Hospital,” said Sudanese police in a statement.

Relatives flocked to the stadium in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman to watch youth graduate after their basic training before the onset of their one-year obligatory military service.

Morgue official Talal Mohamed said 23 bodies, including children, were brought to the morgue after the incident in Khartoum’s twin city of Omdurman.

The graduation celebration still went ahead in the presence of Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein and Presidential Adviser Nafie Ali Nafie. Witnesses at the stadium said there were huge numbers of people pushing at the doors and access was poorly organised.

They heard ambulance sirens but did not see those who were killed.—Agencies