KAMPALA - Crowds flocking to a New Year's fireworks display became trapped in a narrow corridor in a shopping mall near the Ugandan capital, suffocating at least nine people, police said, including a 10-year-old boy.
Police said people began pouring into an aisle at the Freedom City Mall just after midnight.
"Very many people got stuck as they were entering in large numbers to see fireworks. In doing so, many people suffocated to death. So far nine people are confirmed dead," the police statement said.
People celebrated the New Year at the mall on the highway linking Kampala and Entebbe airports.
No arrests have been made so far.
Police said five people died at the scene, and four others died of their injuries at the hospital where they had been taken for treatment. There was no immediate information on other injured people.
The police said the bodies had been taken to the city mortuary in Mulago.
The shopping mall is a popular venue for music concerts and new year celebrations.
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