Eleven people die in stampede at Zimbabwe church

Eleven people have been killed in a stampede after a religious service in a sports stadium in Zimbabwe, according to reports. A pregnant woman and three children are among the dead. Church officials fear the toll may rise.

Around 30,000 people packed into a stadium in Kwekwe, 213 km (130 miles) west of Harare, on Thursday evening to listen to Walter Magaya, a pastor who draws huge crowds, Senior Assistant Commissioner Shadreck Mubaiwa told Reuters. Magaya claims to be able to perform miracles and heal people.

Initial reports state the cause of the accident is due to the fact that police blocked all but one exit to the stadium. When the service ended the congregation rushed towards a single exit, in a stampede that killed four people on the spot. Another seven were pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Pictures posted on social media Friday morning showed the stadium's collapsed perimeter wall of the stadium.

Walter Magaya, the head of the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance (PHD)

Ministries, told the Zimbabwean tabloid H-Metro: "I am gutted. I had already left the venue when I got news that there was a commotion... Within minutes I was told that eight people had died.

"I rushed back to the venue and it was very sad, the saddest moment of my life. As of this morning I am made to understand that three more died," Magaya said.

He announced he is taking the blame.

"This was our event and as a church we have to take the blame for the tragedy. It is still too early to say what caused the stampede but the fact that the stampede took place at the venue means that part of our system failed to function."