Police say 35 children have died after being trampled at a fun fair in the southwestern Nigerian city of Ibadan, with six others hospitalized.
The event was advertised as free entry and attracted a large crowd but so many people turned up that it was a struggle as they struggled to get in.
Residents said more than 5,000 children gathered at the venue and the jostling occurred when the main organizers arrived to start the event.
The sequence of events leading up to the crush has not been revealed.
Police said they arrested eight people behind the event, including the main organizer, Naomi Silekunola, a prominent figure in the city.
The Oyo State government said the victims were taken to hospitals across Ibadan for treatment following the scuffle at the Islam High School in the city’s Bashorun district.
It said there were “many people killed and injured”.
Authorities have urged parents worried about their children’s whereabouts to check in at the city’s hospitals.
