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Clothing are seen along a street in Plateau district where a stampede occurred after a New Year's Eve fireworks display in Abidjan on Jan. 1, 2013. (Xinhua/Koula)
More than 200 casualties including at least 60 deaths were caused in a stampede on New Year's Eve in Abidjan, the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire, public television RTI reported on Tuesday.
The stampede occurred while large crowds of people were gathering in the central administrative district of Plateau to watch a fireworks show.
At least 60 people died and more than 200 other injured in the incident, RTI said, citing a provisional report by local firefighters.
Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara announced Tuesday that a period of national mourning will be held for the victims of the stampede.
President Ouattara, who visited the injured in a hospital, called the accident a "national tragedy."
Mayor of Abidjan Robert Beugre Mamb, who is the initiator of the fireworks show, made a visit to the injured evacuated to the CHU health center in the district of Cocody.
Cote d'Ivoire's First Lady Dominique Ouattara (2nd L) visits a child injured in a stampede at a hospital in Abidjan on Jan. 1, 2013. (Xinhua/Wu Changrong)
The city for the second consecutive year launched an operation dubbed "Abidjan, illuminated city" to bring light to the main streets in yearend celebrations.
The centerpiece of the operation is the fireworks show on New Year's Eve.
Witnesses said the stampede occurred after the fireworks ended near the stadium's main entrance. Investigation was under way into the cause of the stampede.
Some witnesses said that after the fireworks, huge crowds were moving in different directions.
