A senior Ghanaian soccer official inspecting a stadium where 126 people died last week in a stampede said Monday the venue's main gates were not locked when the tragedy occurred, contrary to earlier media reports.
Dwamena Tawiah, an executive member of the Ghana Football Association's governing board, did not explain how he came to the conclusion.
Tawiah made the comments after visiting the 45,000-capacity Accra Sports Stadium with officials of the Ghana Sports Council. The findings will be presented to a commission set up last week by President John Kufuor to determine what caused the disaster, he said.
Wednesday's stampede erupted after police fired tear gas at unruly fans, sparking a panicked rush for the main gates, which survivors said were locked. Most of the victims were suffocated or crushed to death.
``We found out that the main gates to the exit points where the people (were) crushed were not closed as was widely reported,'' said Tawiah, adding that other side gates at the stadium may have been locked.
The football association announced an indefinite ban on league matches in the West African country following the disaster.
Abedi Pele, one of Ghana's soccer legends and a former skipper of the national soccer team, the Black Stars, called on authorities to ``wake up and respond to the needs of the sport.''
``We need a bigger stadium than can safely accommodate 120,000 people. We are a growing people,'' said Abedi, who retired from the Black Stars in 1998. ``I know Europe had had these (infrastructure) problems before but now it is behind them.''
A three-day national mourning period to officially honor the dead ended on Sunday.
