People were pushing toward the fence, and the fence collapsed and the people in the back stepped on those in front.”Bodies were left strewn on the field covered in blankets as the emergency services tried to revive the injured and dying.In scenes reminiscent of Hillsborough, the emergency services used advertising boards as stretchers to carry dead and wounded on to the perimeter of the pitch. Two helicopters took it in turns to land on the pitch and ferry the most seriously injured to hospital.President Thabo Mbeki’s office promised an urgent inquiry into the tragedy.. One of the biggest matches of the South African football season ended in disaster last night when Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg turned into a horrifying rerun of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. One of the biggest matches of the South African football season ended in disaster last night when Ellis Park stadium in Johannesburg turned into a horrifying rerun of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster.Witnesses leaving the ground said the stampede, in which least 50 were crushed to death, happened because Ellis Park ­ a multi-purpose stadium most famous for its rugby ­ was too small to accommodate all those who wanted to see the crucial Johannesburg derby between the top teams Kaizer Chiefs and the Orlando Pirates.The fatal crush is also a setback for South African aspirations to bid for the 2010 World Cup, after it narrowly lost to Germany for the 2006 event.At least 27 bodies lay strewn on the field after the match had been cancelled. A stream of ambulances, private cars and helicopters delivered the injured fans to Johannesburg General Hospital.The Sports Minister, Ngconde Balfour, said: “We’re stunned, we’re shocked and we’re sending our condolences to those families.” The final death toll is still uncertain.Zeph Nyoka, 27, a supporter, said that those who were crushed in the eastern access tunnel after its gate was forced open appeared to be trying to enter the capacity stadium without tickets.Mr Nyoka, who was sitting about 150 metres from the tunnel in which the crush happened, said: “We got to the ground early and everything seemed OK The security was as normal. But it seems that when the tickets ran out, people started fighting to get in. And the security people could not cope with the pressure of the people.”Noah Sibanda, 30, a paramedic who was off duty, said he had run on to the pitch to help the injured, some of whom had become entangled in barbed wire as they were pushed by the stampede.A helicopter landed on the pitch and began ferrying the injured to hospitals “The injured were hurt from the waist down.

They had no feeling in their legs,” Mr Sibanda said.Supporters said it became clear that something was wrong midway through the first half of the match. The premiership game ­ between two of the country’s teams with the biggest following ­ was abandoned when the score was 1-1, after 33 minutes of play.Orlando Pirates lead the Castle premiership and Kaizer Chiefs, whose home ground is Ellis Park, are in 4th position.Many expressed fury at the choice of venue for the match. Ellis Park can accommodate about 65,000 people whereas FNB stadium, which is Orlando Pirates’ home ground near Soweto and hosts most football internationals, has room for more than 80,000 supporters. Until last year, the two teams shared FNB.One man, who was clearly distressed, shouted: “There were as many people outside as inside. The organisation of football in this country is terrible ­ and they want to hold the World Cup.” Michael Phiri, a 31-year-old Pirates fan, said: “The stadium was just too small, the tickets sold out, and the security people were overwhelmed by the crowd. I have never seen anything like this in South African football.”The stunned crowd slowly left the stadium at about 9.30pm after standing quietly in the terraces at the instruction of a commentator while the emergency services intervened.

Many did not realise the seriousness of the disaster until the commentator, speaking in English and Zulu, read out a telephone number for Hillbrow mortuary in Johannesburg.At Johannesburg General Hospital, a ward sister said she was turning away maternity cases to deal with the victims. Inside the hospital, Simayetwa Mabaso, from Jeppestown, bleeding from head and leg injuries, said: “Some of us are dead I saw one of my friends, Hlahla I don’t know where he is now.”. A stampede of fans inside and outside an overcrowded soccer stadium killed 43 people and injured scores of others. A stampede of fans inside and outside an overcrowded soccer stadium killed 43 people and injured scores of others, South African officials said.Sobbing women were led away from the stadium early today after identifying their relatives’ bodies. At least 27 bodies were lined up on the field, and several others lay outside.The scene at Ellis Park Stadium, where Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates – two of South Africa’s most popular teams – played yesterday in a much–awaited derby was chaotic before kick–off, said Abdul Patel, who spent 20 minutes in the crowd outside before he managed to get in.Thousands of fans pushed their way through the fence around the stadium or climbed over gates, he said.The match was not called off until 10 minutes after the first body had been carried away from the stands, Patel said. At that time, no one realized how serious the situation was.”We thought someone had fainted,” he said. Later however, he saw at least 10 bodies being carried onto the field.Robin Petersen, chief of the Professional Soccer League, told reporters gates leading to the stadium were closed after it had filled to its capacity of 62,000.

The thousands of fans still outside then shoved through the fence, breaking it in four places, he said. The guards were not able to stop the crowd, which poured into the already full stands.Officials initially did not realize the magnitude of the problem, he said.”Maybe had we responded earlier, the situation would have been averted,” he was quoted as saying.The match was tied 1–1 when it was abandoned after 34 minutes of play.”We’re stunned, we’re shocked and we’re sending our condolences to those families,” Sports Minister Ngconde Balfour told The Associated Press. “Whatever will need to be done we’ll do.”The stampede killed 43 people, 29 inside the stadium and 14 outside, said Sgt Amanda Roestoff, a police spokeswoman. Two of the dead were children, she said.News reports said at least 155 fans were injured. Most of them suffered fractured ribs and other broken bones, emergency services spokesman Rodney Eksteen said.Security guard Louis Shipalana, 42, said the match initially appeared to be like any derby between the Chiefs and the Pirates.”There was lots of cheering,” he said. “The fans were happy.”Things changed after the Pirates equalised.”That’s when everything happened,” he said “The stadium was full There was no place to stand. The people were pushing toward the fence (around the field), and the fence collapsed and the people in the back stepped on those in front.”Emergency officials said people died at the fence separating fans from the field and also at the fence into the stadium.Security guard Petrus Saayman, 22, said he rushed to help a teen–age girl trapped in a fence.”The girl, she broke her neck or something.

When I came there, she was already dead,” he said.Security guards reportedly had earlier fired tear gas at people stampeding outside the stadium, according to 702 radio.The large television screen in the stadium displayed the telephone numbers for the mortuary and the hospital.President Thabo Mbeki’s office promised an urgent inquiry into the tragedy to ensure it was not repeated.”On behalf of the entire nation, the president conveyed condolences to the families of the bereaved,” said a statement from Mbeki’s office.The Chiefs and the Pirates are major rivals and their matches are wildly popular among South Africa soccer fans.”This match is bigger than Manchester United vs Liverpool. People would travel 300 to 400 miles for the game hoping to get tickets on the day,” Mark Fish, a former South African captain and Orlando Pirates defender, told BBC radio.Balfour said the chaos should not affect South Africa’s bid to host the 2010 World Cup.”It was a freak accident,” he said “We can’t think about 2010 now. We’ve got to think about those families.”But Fish, now with English side Charlton Athletic, worried about the effect this would have on South Africa’s World Cup bid.”This could be a dent for 2010. A lot of people will blame each other,” he told the BBC.The deaths follow a soccer stampede in neighbouring Zimbabwe in July that killed 13 fans after police fired tear gas into a crowd estimated at 50,000 to quell growing unruliness.. Farmers have called for tourists caught trying to carry banned food into Australia to be immediately deported as part of continuing efforts to keep the country free of foot–and–mouth disease.