From: http://news.inq7.net/breaking/index.php?index=2&story_id=65112

First posted 11:15am (Mla time) Feb 04, 2006
INQ7.net

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(2nd UPDATE) OVER 70 people were killed and as many as 201 others were injured Saturday when a stampede broke out at a stadium in Pasig City, officials said.

Vice President Noli de Castro told a news briefing aired live on television that at least 79 people died after thousands of people stampeded into the Philsports arena, previously known as ULTRA, to attend the live broadcast of a popular television variety show by ABS-CBN network.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying that the total number of fatalities had risen to 71.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is expected to visit the site of the tragedy later 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.

Aside from De Castro, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the Philippine National Red Cross and Metro Manila police chief Vidal Querol were on hand early to assist the victims, most of who were brought to the Rizal Medical Center and Medical City.

The stampede erupted at around 6 a.m. as thousands, including those who had been camped outside the stadium since Wednesday, were lined up to watch “Wowowee.”

Television footage showed Army and Red Cross personnel loading the remains of the victims on military trucks.

“We will extend assistance to the victims. We will also look at the liabilities,” Pasig City Mayor Vicente Eusebio said in a separate interview.

ABS-CBN anchor Karen Davila announced on air that the Lopez-owned network was “saddened” by the tragedy and would shoulder the medical and funeral expenses of the victims.

Quoting initial reports, Querol said the stampede erupted after a heckler shouted to the crowd that there was a bomb.

“We are looking at the lack of a security arrangement,” Eastern Police District (EPD) Chief Director Oscar Calderon told reporters.

Bodies covered with blankets were still lying on the street outside the stadium as paramedics prioritized those still alive so they could be taken to hospitals.

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

Relatives of the dead said they were told that tickets to the show were supposed to be given out starting at 6 a.m. By 7 a.m., the restive crowd started pushing and shoving to get inside the gates.

Some were clambering up the roof while others were squeezing their bodies inside the gates that were being opened at times.

As of 10 a.m., hundreds of people were still waiting outside the stadium, apparently waiting for a final decision on whether the show would go on.

“Wowowee” was planning to give away big prizes, including 1 million pesos, a house and lot, and a car for its anniversary.

Show host Willie Revillame, in an interview with ANC television, said he was saddened by the incident. But he said he was still willing hold the show on Saturday noon at the Philsports arena.

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. With reports from Joel Francis Guinto , INQ7.net; Jocelyn Uy and Luige del Puerto, Inquirer; AFP, AP

From: http://news.yehey.com/news3.asp?c=11&i=139387

2/4/2006 3:00:00 PM
Source : AFP

Eighty-eight people were killed and as many as 201 others injured in the Philippine capital Saturday when thousands stampeded for stadium seats at a television game show, rescuers said.

Red Cross officials said 88 people were confirmed dead while Health Secretary Francisco Duque said the total number of injuries reached as many as 201.

Thousands of people stampeded into the Ultra stadium in Manila at dawn to secure limited seats hours ahead of the live broadcast of a popular television variety show called “Wow-wow-wee” on broadcast giant ABS-CBN.

The show offered a top prize of one million pesos (19,250 dollars).

mm/cgm/mtp

Tama. Today’s tragedy at Ultra partly reflects the economic hardship that this country is in – in spite of the economic statistics being shown that we are improving. The statistics are showing half truths. People don’t mind waiting overnight and waiting in long lines – with the hope of winning big prizes from TV game shows, etc. Take a look at how long the Lotto lines are. No wonder that 10% of the total Philippine population have gone abroad and it is the big remittance that is helping to prop up the economy. Lino N.

Taken from: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/topofthehour.aspx?StoryId=29061
National (as of 1:34 PM)

The death toll in the stampede Saturday at Philsport stadium (formerly ULTRA) in Pasig City rose to 79, Vice-President Noli de Castro said.

The figure was announced by de Castro during a press conference at the stadium.

The stampede broke out around 6 a.m. as thousands lined up to get tickets for the popular noontime gameshow Wowowee, police said.

They said the crush at the stadium came when organizers of the first anniversary celebration of the gameshow began handing out tickets to people, many of whom had been camping outside for days.

Some witnesses said chaos erupted when someone in the crowd shouted “bomb,” but others said that people surged forward when guards began giving out tickets at around dawn.

Most of the victims were elderly and were crushed against a steel fence at one gate into the stadium.

“We were happy. We only wanted to have fun and then this thing happened,” Nimfa Santos said on local radio, adding she had been waiting with a group of women. “I don’t know what happened to the others.”

Bodies of the victims were lined up on the street outside the stadium, their faces covered with sheets and blankets.

“My mum died,” Alberto Herrera said on radio. “Please help me. I don’t know what to do.”

Dozens of people were hurt. But Pasig Mayor Vicente Eusebio said he did not expect the death toll to rise.

The noontime show “Wowowee” is one of the most-watched in the Philippines, offering large prizes of cash and merchandise. ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. announced that the special airing of Wowowee has been canceled due to the tragedy. The show was planning to give away big prizes, including P1 million, a house and lot and a car for its anniversary.

DZMM also reported that a total of 145 people were hurt during the stampede and are currently confined at the Rizal Medical Center (RMC) in Pasig City.

According to Dr. Tito Marcial of RMC, a total of 10 people are confirmed dead from the stampede in the hospital.

Rescue groups like the Philippine Red Cross have already deployed teams to the area.

A Phillipine Army truck arrived to transport the fatalities to the Arlington Funeral Homes in Pasig City and to the Medical City also in Pasig.

Police said the unidentified bodies were taken to the Arlington Funeral Homes.

A separate DZMM report said that one of the fatalities was identified as one Belen Comia of Sampaloc, Manila. She was identified through her postal ID.

Vice-President Noli de Castro arrived at ULTRA around 10:20 a.m. He declined to grant interviews.

De Castro was in his morning show over DZMM when the news of the stampede was first reported in the station.

The ABS-CBN management had announced it will shoulder the medical and funeral cost of the victims of the stampede. abs-cbnNEWS.com/Reuters

From the same OFW Mailing List…

I live near that place…. Have talked to some people… I almost cried…. really a tragedy…

This is a picture of our fellow countrymen here in the Philippines… kawawa talaga tayong mga pinoy… marami ang nagbabakasakali na mag ka pera…. ganyan kahirap ang mga tao dito… people came from all places… I have talked to someone who came as far as mindoro…. she almost died too due to stampede…

🙁

I just checked the time, Manila Time, it is 10:50am. An email came in from an OFW email list I am a member of. Saying that 66 died at the Ultra statium, where the TV program Wowowee was held. A stampede broke out killing 66 people. I went to INQ7 right away, no news. I went to Manila Bulletin, no news. I went to www.abscbn.com, very nice, it forwarded to some resort. ABS CBN does not own the domain. Yehey News was up to date. The news is fresh and was online right away. Copy of the article below:

66 dead in stampede at Philippine stadium: reports
2/4/2006 10:50:00 AM
Source : AFP

Sixty-six people were killed and many more injured on Saturday when a stampede broke out at a stadium in the Philippine capital, local radio quoted unnamed officials at the scene as saying.

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.

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.

kw/mm/jah

Sad news. 🙁