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36 killed in stadium stampede in Mali

From Laura Perez Maestro, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: The 25,000-seat stadium was packed, Ba says
  • The crowd had come to hear a prominent imam speak
  • 64 others are hurt, an official says

(CNN) -- At least 36 people were killed in a stampede at a stadium in Mali after a speech by a prominent imam, the British Embassy in the country said Tuesday.

The stampede at the Modibo Keita stadium took place Monday afternoon as the crowd was leaving the facility, said Mohamed Ba, a consular at the embassy. Another 64 people were wounded, he said.

The crowd had come to hear Imam Osman Madani Haidara speak.

"The stadium seats 25,000 and it was absolutely full, as it is every time Imam Osman Madani Haidara gives a sermon," Ba said.