Egypt soccer riot toll climbs to 74 2012

CAIRO, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Seventy-three people were killed and at least 1000 injured on Wednesday after a soccer pitch invasion in the Egyptian city of Port Said, in what a deputy minister called the biggest disaster in the nation's soccer history

Witnesses say scores of Egyptian soccer fans were stabbed to death while many others suffocated, trapped in a long narrow corridor trying to flee rival fans armed with knives, clubs and stones in the country's worst ever soccer violence that killed at least 74 people.

The tragedy Wednesday evening -- which followed an Egyptian league match between Al-Masry, the home team in the Mediterranean city of Port Said, and Al-Ahly, based in Cairo and one of Egypt's most popular teams -- was a bloody reminder of the deteriorating security in the Arab world's most populous country, as instability continues nearly a year after former President Hosni Mubarak was swept out of power in a popular uprising.

It was also the deadliest soccer violence worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

Egyptian activists have accused the police and military of failing to intervene to stop the mayhem.

On Thursday morning, dozens of angry protesters sealed off Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising that toppled Mubarak, while others blocked the street in front of the state TV building in downtown Cairo, ahead of planned marches later in the day to the Interior Ministry to denounce the police force.

The melee at the stadium in Port Said erupted when Al-Masry fans stormed the field following a rare 3-1 win against Al-Ahly. Al-Masry supporters, armed with knives, sticks and stones chased players and fans from the rival team, Al-Ahly, who ran toward the exits and up the stands to escape, according to witnesses.

Egypt's parliament has scheduled an emergency session on Thursday to investigate the causes of a riot at a soccer game that left more than 70 people dead and 1,000 injured.

Officials in Port Said, where the violence occurred on Wednesday, raised the death toll to 74 after fans of rival soccer teams rushed the field, hurling stones and sticks at each other and sparking a stampede. Citing the Health Ministry, state television reported another 1,000 people were injured in the riot.

The riot was the worst case of soccer violence in Egypt's history and the deadliest worldwide since 1996. One player said it was "like a war."

Witnesses said most of the deaths appeared to have occurred in a stampede after fans of the home team, Al-Masry, stormed on to the field following an upset 3-1 victory against Al-Ahly, Egypt's top team whose home is Cairo.