France’s FIFA World Cup 2018 semifinal win leads to stampede in Nice, 27 injured

World Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Belgium - Paris, France, July 10, 2018 - France fans react on the Champs-Elysees after defeating Belgium in their World Cup semi-final match. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

NICE (France): More than two dozen soccer fans were hurt in a stampede in Nice on Tuesday when revellers let off firecrackers moments before the final whistle of France’s World Cup semi-final win, a local official said.

The incident underscored how the city on the French Riviera remains on edge two years after an Islamist militant drove a refrigerator truck through a crowd celebrating Bastille Day, killing 86 people.

“There was a crowd surge after firecrackers were detonated,” Jean-Gabriel Delacroix from the city prefecture said, saying that 27 people were injured. “Most of the injuries are glass cuts and bruising picked up when people fell.”

Local media ran images of shaken onlookers standing around overturned tables and chairs, the ground littered with broken glass. Reuters could not independently confirm the pictures.