Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Eyewitness
In Memory of Winnie, David, Stephen, Franklin, Victor . . .
To the bereaved families, POLENI SANA kwa msiba. Waliojeruhiwa, poleni and a quick recovery.
I've heard and read several versions about what went down at the Nyayo Stadium on 23 October 2010. Some are blaming the rain; some the organisers KPL, Ticketmasters, Stadia Management; some the security providers.
Spokespersons of the organising stakeholder parties are all passing the buck. All the organisers are to blame for the tragedy. In a just society anyone charged with responsibility at this event would be held accountable for the tragedy and be made to compensate the bereaved families and injured spectators. I know this will ruffle some feathers...but only until such a tragedy knocks close to one's door would one downplay such a misfortune. This being Kenya , nothing is likely to be done to prevent future mishaps/calamities of this nature. I pray i'm proved wrong.
So what caused the tragedy at Nyayo Stadium? Several factors. At 7:00pm the rains had stopped. Gate 2 and 3 had long, winding queues. The people lining up to enter through the turnstile at gate 2 were definitely more than those who had milled around the main gate 2. But the queues were hardly moving. I've since learnt that this was caused by the thorough check of the tickets because counterfeits were suspected to be in circulation.
Anxiety and tension was already building up. Shortly the banging on the gate began, then pushing with intent to break the locks followed. It was only a matter of physics and time and the gate would break open. As a matter of fact (and i have observed this), it takes only about 20 to 30 people with intent to break open the gates at Nyayo Stadium ... of course cheered by the people observing most of whom in my estimation had paid and had tickets but were frustarated and furious.
The gate did break open in 10 to 15 minutes. What followed was natural...the crowd surged. The ones who broke open the gate made it in safely but as the numbers increased the bottleneck caused by the metal bars that run latitudinally caused a jam. Those behind had no idea that the barriers were creating an obstacle and pushed forward anxious to gain entry. Those in the queues naturally joined the slowly moving crowd towards gate 2: as spectators queuing at gate 3 and possibly around the centre stand entrance sensed that the crowd outside gate 2 was thinning they also joined the wave towards this entrance.
I'm not narrating what I heard, I was in that mosh pit. I had all along been in the queue at Gate 2 and I figured out that the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for the first rush to end and then walk in through the gate. So we walked towards the Gate fateful Gate 2. However, the crowd kept on building and there was no forward movement. I couldn't figure out why there was a jam and neither coud the crowd immediately in from of me around me and behind me. I was about 10 to 15m from the open gate. The guys inside started yelling at those behind to move backwards but to no avail. Being right in the middle of the crowd and tall enough to see that there was a jam at the front I relentlessly shouted and waved at the crowd to move back and stop surging forward but also to no avail. Those at the back could not understand what the holdup was either, thus they did not move back.
Indeed the crowd surged forward slowly, then backwards since the bottleneck was choke blocked. In retrospect some of the victims were at this time already on the ground being tampled or crushed against the metal barriers which were the cause of the jam. Most of the rest in the packed jam were suffocating due to the pressure building up. One can only imagine what other attrition was experienced in there. The guys at the top and sides of the gate inside the stadium literally offered hand to the lucky ones in the mosh pit and fished them out of the crunch pit.
The jam lasted too long reducing the chances of survival of the trampled and crushed fans. Eventually, the people at the front managed to push back the surging crowd. The guys on the sides of the entrance inside the stadium (because they could see what was happening) helped immensely when they started hitting the crowd with umbrellas to force them back. The crowd eventually moved back and the reality dawned. Numerous fans had suffocated, limbs broken, bodies bruised. The bodies lay there some motionless, some barely breathing, others writhing in agony. Good samaritans (shukran jamaa) were fanning the injured and lifting them to safety. There was not a single policeman, no one took charge of the rescue operation (THERE WAS NO RESCUE OPERATION!) and the paramedics. . . I didn't see a single one where the crunch happened.
I've come to learn that almost 30 minutes later there still was no emergency assistance and that it why Matthew 'Ottamax' rushed into the pitch to try stop the match and get assistance for the injured. He had been trying for 30 minutes single handedly (more or less) to get help for the injured!
My verdict is: Negligence and unpreparedness; blame needs to be apportioned where it belongs. I continue to hear excuses such as, rain causing fans to try gain entry into the sheltered centre stand, Stadium officials blaming fans, late sale of tickets, jammed car park blocking ambulance access, etc. Yes, all these contributed, but some of the 8 lost lives would have been saved if not all had the necessary preparations been done. But where were the medics, where are the stretchers? The injured could have carried the injured to Nairobi West Hospital for heaven's sake! Oh, and I read today about superstitious fans rushing Gate 2. This from SSMB Management. Please!
How would I have stopped this tragedy:
1. Use all gates to allow fans entry. Coupled with efficient ticket checks. As long as the queues are moving the gates are unlikely to be rushed.
2. Security: Police should have disperesed those who burst open the gate, before they did so. A cannister of teargass would have been effective! People would scamper to safety but nothing close to the stampede that resulted in the the 8 deaths.
3. Infrastucture: no death traps. Who put those barriers in the path? What happened to scenario planning. SSMB should know by now how those gates get broken through and how the crowd surges thereafter. In the lack of knowlwedge of rudimentary physics, observation serves just fine. Can you imagine if something (like an explosion {GOD Forbid} since we allow security breaches with impunity) caused a panic inside and people had to rush to get out of the stadium past those barriers.
4. If overwhelmed: Open the gates and allow the surging fans inside in good time. Would result in a loss of revenue but reduce the risk to death or injury.
Myths & Misinformation:
To the bereaved families, POLENI SANA kwa msiba. Waliojeruhiwa, poleni and a quick recovery.
I've heard and read several versions about what went down at the Nyayo Stadium on 23 October 2010. Some are blaming the rain; some the organisers KPL, Ticketmasters, Stadia Management; some the security providers.
Spokespersons of the organising stakeholder parties are all passing the buck. All the organisers are to blame for the tragedy. In a just society anyone charged with responsibility at this event would be held accountable for the tragedy and be made to compensate the bereaved families and injured spectators. I know this will ruffle some feathers...but only until such a tragedy knocks close to one's door would one downplay such a misfortune. This being Kenya , nothing is likely to be done to prevent future mishaps/calamities of this nature. I pray i'm proved wrong.
So what caused the tragedy at Nyayo Stadium? Several factors. At 7:00pm the rains had stopped. Gate 2 and 3 had long, winding queues. The people lining up to enter through the turnstile at gate 2 were definitely more than those who had milled around the main gate 2. But the queues were hardly moving. I've since learnt that this was caused by the thorough check of the tickets because counterfeits were suspected to be in circulation.
Anxiety and tension was already building up. Shortly the banging on the gate began, then pushing with intent to break the locks followed. It was only a matter of physics and time and the gate would break open. As a matter of fact (and i have observed this), it takes only about 20 to 30 people with intent to break open the gates at Nyayo Stadium ... of course cheered by the people observing most of whom in my estimation had paid and had tickets but were frustarated and furious.
The gate did break open in 10 to 15 minutes. What followed was natural...the crowd surged. The ones who broke open the gate made it in safely but as the numbers increased the bottleneck caused by the metal bars that run latitudinally caused a jam. Those behind had no idea that the barriers were creating an obstacle and pushed forward anxious to gain entry. Those in the queues naturally joined the slowly moving crowd towards gate 2: as spectators queuing at gate 3 and possibly around the centre stand entrance sensed that the crowd outside gate 2 was thinning they also joined the wave towards this entrance.
I'm not narrating what I heard, I was in that mosh pit. I had all along been in the queue at Gate 2 and I figured out that the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for the first rush to end and then walk in through the gate. So we walked towards the Gate fateful Gate 2. However, the crowd kept on building and there was no forward movement. I couldn't figure out why there was a jam and neither coud the crowd immediately in from of me around me and behind me. I was about 10 to 15m from the open gate. The guys inside started yelling at those behind to move backwards but to no avail. Being right in the middle of the crowd and tall enough to see that there was a jam at the front I relentlessly shouted and waved at the crowd to move back and stop surging forward but also to no avail. Those at the back could not understand what the holdup was either, thus they did not move back.
Indeed the crowd surged forward slowly, then backwards since the bottleneck was choke blocked. In retrospect some of the victims were at this time already on the ground being tampled or crushed against the metal barriers which were the cause of the jam. Most of the rest in the packed jam were suffocating due to the pressure building up. One can only imagine what other attrition was experienced in there. The guys at the top and sides of the gate inside the stadium literally offered hand to the lucky ones in the mosh pit and fished them out of the crunch pit.
The jam lasted too long reducing the chances of survival of the trampled and crushed fans. Eventually, the people at the front managed to push back the surging crowd. The guys on the sides of the entrance inside the stadium (because they could see what was happening) helped immensely when they started hitting the crowd with umbrellas to force them back. The crowd eventually moved back and the reality dawned. Numerous fans had suffocated, limbs broken, bodies bruised. The bodies lay there some motionless, some barely breathing, others writhing in agony. Good samaritans (shukran jamaa) were fanning the injured and lifting them to safety. There was not a single policeman, no one took charge of the rescue operation (THERE WAS NO RESCUE OPERATION!) and the paramedics. . . I didn't see a single one where the crunch happened.
I've come to learn that almost 30 minutes later there still was no emergency assistance and that it why Matthew 'Ottamax' rushed into the pitch to try stop the match and get assistance for the injured. He had been trying for 30 minutes single handedly (more or less) to get help for the injured!
My verdict is: Negligence and unpreparedness; blame needs to be apportioned where it belongs. I continue to hear excuses such as, rain causing fans to try gain entry into the sheltered centre stand, Stadium officials blaming fans, late sale of tickets, jammed car park blocking ambulance access, etc. Yes, all these contributed, but some of the 8 lost lives would have been saved if not all had the necessary preparations been done. But where were the medics, where are the stretchers? The injured could have carried the injured to Nairobi West Hospital for heaven's sake! Oh, and I read today about superstitious fans rushing Gate 2. This from SSMB Management. Please!
How would I have stopped this tragedy:
1. Use all gates to allow fans entry. Coupled with efficient ticket checks. As long as the queues are moving the gates are unlikely to be rushed.
2. Security: Police should have disperesed those who burst open the gate, before they did so. A cannister of teargass would have been effective! People would scamper to safety but nothing close to the stampede that resulted in the the 8 deaths.
3. Infrastucture: no death traps. Who put those barriers in the path? What happened to scenario planning. SSMB should know by now how those gates get broken through and how the crowd surges thereafter. In the lack of knowlwedge of rudimentary physics, observation serves just fine. Can you imagine if something (like an explosion {GOD Forbid} since we allow security breaches with impunity) caused a panic inside and people had to rush to get out of the stadium past those barriers.
4. If overwhelmed: Open the gates and allow the surging fans inside in good time. Would result in a loss of revenue but reduce the risk to death or injury.
Myths & Misinformation:
- The tickets were oversold: untrue. Approx. 20,000 max were present. Stadium capacity is said to be 30,000.
- Late/Night time games unsafe: this assertion lacks a basis. It's all about proper planning.
- Fans insited on using Gate 2 based on superstition: myth in the making. Fans simply rushed to the gate that was broken open.
- Rowdy fans tried to gain free entry: a frustrated and angry fan with a ticket is more likely to misdirect his anger in such a circumstance, which unfortunately turned tragic.
- Rains caused stampede into covered Centre Stand: misinformation, tragedy inside Gate 2
- Tickets should have been sold days in advance: so that the fans start entering the stadium 2 days earlier?! Bottleneck is at the turnstiles when checking for counterfeit tickets.
- Home teams should provide security: I thought that is work for the police.
The most we can do is learn from this incident. But will we? And if we don't it will surely happen again (GOD Forbid). Service providers & fans next time it may not be someone you consider a "stranger" it may hit close to home. Service providers & organisers please learn and make the stadium a safe place. Preparation, Prevention, Contingency, Scenario Planning...
I have learnt that I MUST get my FIRST AID skills. I cannot wait for someone else to provide emergency help.
8 lost their lives senselessly. It could happen to the most unsuspecting under different circumstances. It happened to these 8.
To the bereaved families, POLENI SANA kwa msiba. Waliojeruhiwa, poleni and a quick recovery.
Winnie, David, Stephen, Franklin, Victor, ...Rest In Peace!
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