One Dead, Several Injured In Crowd Surge During Jordan-Algeria Match Viewing

One person has died, and several others were injured following a crowd surge at a public viewing event for Jordan’s football match against Algeria.

Thousands of supporters had gathered at the historic Roman Theatre in the Jordanian capital to watch the game on giant screens as Jordan faced Algeria at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara, United States.

Although the open-air venue has a capacity of about 6,000 people, a ministerial source said approximately 15,000 fans turned up for the event.

According to Jordan’s Public Security Directorate, nine people were taken to the hospital in the early hours of Tuesday after being injured in a crowd movement at Hashemite Square, a public space near the theatre.

“One of the injured died shortly after being admitted,” a spokesman for the directorate said, adding that the remaining victims sustained varying degrees of injuries and were in stable to moderate condition.

A medical source identified the deceased as a Jordanian man in his twenties.

On the field, Algeria rallied from a first-half deficit to defeat Jordan 2-1 in their second group-stage match. Jordan had earlier lost their opening fixture against Austria, while reigning world champions Argentina sit atop the group standings after two matches.