At least 66 killed in Manila stampede
(AP)
Updated: 2006-02-04 09:34

A stampede broke out early Saturday outside a stadium near Manila where tens of thousands of people had lined up to watch a popular game show, and at least 66 spectators were killed, an official said.

Metro Manila authority executive director Lito Vergel De Dios said in a radio interview that a crowd had been gathering around the ULTRA stadium since Wednesday to get into the taping of a popular television variety show.

Victims of a stampede lie on a street in Manila February 4, 2006. Sixty-six people were killed in a stampede at a stadium in the Philippine capital, Manila, on Saturday as they lined up to get tickets for a popular television gameshow, police and local officials said.[Reuters]

He was earlier quoted as saying 54 people had been killed.

Officials contacted by AFP said they were still trying to compile a total from all the hospitals in the area.

De Dios said someone in the crowd was believed to have shouted "bomb," sparking a panic that caused people to trample one another.

Dead bodies, most of them women, were taken out of the stadium on stretchers and laid down on a dirty street, covered with newspapers, plastic bags and discarded cloth.

A little boy was seen crying over the body of his mother, trying to awaken her.

Thousands of people were still streaming through the area after the incident, milling around dead bodies and blocking the entry of ambulances.

Discarded shoes and slippers along with broken bottles and food were scattered all around the stadium.