One person has been killed and dozens more suffocated in a horror stampede at a stadium in Basra, Iraq.
Locals reported that 27 people had been left unable to breathe and sustained fractures during the incident in front of the Palm Trunk Stadium.
Thousands of Iraqis without tickets had gathered at dawn for this evening's Arabian Gulf Cup match with Oman, hoping to attend anyway when some began to push, according to an interior ministry official.
Horrific footage from the scene shows a mass of thousands of fans squeezed into a long, tight avenue.
In one heart-stopping clip of the aftermath, their mangled, injured bodies can be seen strewn around on the tarmac after the crush.
Some locals reported the victims had lost consciousness and fainted as they struggled to save themselves from the stampede.
Iraq's hardened state security forces could be seen clambering through the devastation to retrieve and revive those who fell.
A third video shows dedicated Iraqi football lovers clambering over the stadium's outer gates to storm the security agents so they could watch their team play this afternoon.
This morning, the spokesman for Iraq's Ministry of Interior Major General Khaled Al-Mahna, warned sports fans to avoid the venue.
Al-Muhanna told Earth News, "We call upon the fans who do not have tickets not to gather in front of the sports city gates, in order to preserve their lives."
He said: "The security forces are present and alert for any emergency."
"There are other areas to watch the match on the giant screens that have been provided," he added.
The tragedy comes amid the Arabian Gulf Cup.
The incident happened just hours ahead of the final cup game between Iraq and Oman, according to reports.
Today's tournament is the first major football competition hosted by Iraq for more than four decades.
It comes as the country seeks to reverse 40 years of violence and instability and to throw itself back into the international community.
During its opening ceremony on January 6, legendary sailor Sinbad from The Arabian Nights rose to greet the crowd as lights and lasers danced across the stadium.
Iraq's celebrities then took fans through a thousand-year journey of the country's history, according to the Washington Post.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who attended the opening ceremony alongside Arab officials and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, said: "Gulf 25 is an opportunity that can help strengthen relations between Iraq and the rest of the gulf countries.
“It will be a sign of recovery from the lean years and political turmoil.”
It's still to be seen how today's events will affect the country's reintegration goals.
