Stampede killed 45 at mourning for dead Tanzanian president - police

FILE PHOTO: Various flags fly at half mast following the death of Tanzania's President John Magufuli in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania March 18, 2021. REUTERS/Emmanuel Herman

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A stampede at a Tanzanian stadium crushed 45 people to death as mourners paid last respects to late President John Magufuli, police said on Tuesday, many times more than the five fatalities initially announced after the disaster on March 21.

Police in the port city of Dar es Salaam, where the stampede occurred, attributed some of the deaths to people being starved of oxygen at the event due to overcrowding.