HOSPITAL officials said yesterday at least 33 people were dead following a stampede at a rap concert in the capital of Guinea.

    Donka Hospital Director Fatou Sike Camara said that the victims included children as young as 10.

    Thousands had gathered at the beach in Conakry on Tuesday night for a concert celebrating the end of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.

    Witnesses said the stampede happened after the show ended as the large crowd tried to exit through a small gate. Some people fell to the ground and were trampled.

    The president’s office said in a statement that it was “shocked by the tragedy caused by (crowd) movements at a cultural event.”

    In an address on national television, President Alpha Conde called for a one-week mourning period for the victims; he did not give a death toll.

    Conde also closed the capital’s beaches until further notice and said an investigation was underway.

    The disaster came as Guinea battles a deadly Ebola epidemic, which has killed more than 670 people there and in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.(SD-Agencies)