Egypt Mourns Soccer Deaths

At least 74 people were killed and over 1,000 injured late Wednesday when fans rushed the pitch in the northern Suez Canal city of Port Said.

 

Here in Port Said, hundreds have turned out to give blood at this hospital.

 

For many, it's the least they can do to help.

 

Hospitals throughout the area were put on high alert, and dozens of ambulances rushed to Port Said from the canal cities of Ismailia and Suez.

 

The brother of a 21-year-old killed in the violence says Egypt's security forces are to blame.

 

[Mohamed Mellegi, Relative of Victim]:   

"Those people who attacked us were not fans of al-Masry Club, they were a hired group of saboteurs, and they want to destroy the country to damage the image of the country. Most of the fans were against the riots, the good people have been dismissed, because we are against the riots, but the security forces are responsible for all of this."

 

Meanwhile, the head of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Field Marshall Tantawi, has vowed to track down and prosecute those responsible.

 

[Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Field Marshall]:   

"God willing, if there is any person planning to destabilize Egypt, he will fail to achieve his goal. Everyone involved in this incident will be handed a fair sentence. Egypt and all of us are going on the roadmap that Egyptians agreed on, and such incidents will not affect this roadmap."

 

The army also declared three days of national mourning, and promised compensation to the families of those killed.

 

But Tantawi's statements have done little to calm fans who, like many Egyptians, are angry that Egypt is still plagued by violence almost a year since Mubarak was driven out.