Zimbabwe: 11 people die in stampede during religious service held in a sports stadium

HARARE, Zimbabwe – A police commander in Zimbabwe says 11 people died in a stampede during a religious service held at a sports stadium.

Police commander Shadreck Mubaiwa said Friday that four people died at the stadium and seven more at the hospital. Those killed were attending a church service for a popular Pentecostal pastor, Walter Magaya.

The cause of the stampede — which occurred in the early hours of Friday morning — was not immediately known.

A pregnant woman and three children were among the dead, Magaya told the state-run newspaper The Herald.

Thousands of people were expected to have attended the service at the stadium in Kwekwe, a city in central Zimbabwe.