Nomads fan dead in stadium stampede: Malawi Police fire teargas
At least one Mighty Wanderers supporter Limius Joster 31 years of age was killed on Saturday and 28 injured in a stampede triggered by teargas canisters fired by the police following Silver Strikers beating of a Mighty Wanderers fan Leemias Josta.
Hell broke loose when suspected Mighty Wanderers fans and their Silver counterparts were involved in a free-for-all brawl that resulted in the fence surrounding the pitch being forced down.
At the time of the abandonment in the second half, the Bankers were on course to win the title as they led 1-0 in the final match of the 2013 TNM Super League encounter .
The fighting was sparked by a certain section of the Bankers supporters who beat up severely a Nomad fan Leemias Josta.
The Nomads fans retaliated with stone throwing resulting in both camps pelting at each other.
The match was stopped when the two camps were involved in a fierce battle.
However, the Nomads fans managed to rescue their fellow supporter after overpowering the Bankers fans.
The moment of a stampede came when a certain police man fired two teargas canisters to the helpless Nomads fans who were leaving the stadium.
What prompted the stampede was that the teargas which was fired on the middle of the crowd scrambling to climb the fence to jump outside the stadium for their dear lives.
The commotion led to some supporters falling down with some being stepped.
With so many people panicking … the situation quickly got out of control as the supporters brought down the security fence which protect fans not to invade the pitch inorder to find their way out as all the gates were still locked at this time.
Helpless Leemias Josta met his fate when he was allegedly hit by a stone on his back of the head before falling down to breathe his last.
He was rushed to the hospital but the Wanderers fan was pronounced dead on arrival.
However, a visit at Balaka hospital revealed that among the injured were two children , two men and three women all being Mighty Wanderers supporters.
At exactly 9:45pm, the wife to the deceased Grace arrived at the hospital’s mortuary in accompany with some relatives in a sombre mood after being identified with the help of the Super League Association of Malawi.
In tears, Grace said she was shocked with the whole scenario as his husband has left her with three children and the last born clocking a month on a day his father died due to his love of soccer.
However, Silver Strikers players and supporters who travelled from Lilongwe were whisked away by the police after angry Mighty Wanderers bayed for their blood.
For instance, the Nomads fans managed to catch one Silver Strikers supporter, who was a ring leader in beating their fellow supporter.
The angry supporters wanted to set the Bankers fan ablaze but he was rescued by the police .
Meanwhile, Sulom is yet to make any official statement on the game but unconfirmed reports that Nyasa Times gathered the match will be replayed.
