E-Paper
88 killed in Philippine stampede
About 201 others were hurt when the mishap occurred at a stadium in Manila.
Eighty-eight people were killed and as many as 201 others were injured on Saturday when a stampede broke out at a stadium in the Philippine capital, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said.
Duque told reporters that the total number of fatalities had risen to 71 after thousands of people stampeded into the Ultra stadium in Manila to attend the live broadcast of a popular television variety show.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo is expected to visit the site of the tragedy later on Saturday, her chief aide Eduardo Ermita said.
She expressed sorrow over the incident and ordered all government agencies to extend their full support to the victims.
The cause of the incident is still under investigation. Some officials have said that a person in the crowd had shouted "bomb," triggering the stampede but survivors and police investigators said it was just the sheer crush of people, surging into a narrow passageway to enter the stadium.
