Ten killed in S.Africa New Year stampede in bar

JOHANNESBURG, (Reuters) – Ten people were killed in a  stampede in a bar in a South African township during a New  Year’s Eve celebration, an official said today.
Most of the dead were believed to be between the ages of 18  and 25, but police were still investigating whether any were  minors, said Lesiba Moses Kgwele, a local government spokesman.
Police were investigating the cause of the stampede, which  happened shortly after midnight in Ipelegeng Township, about 300  kilometres (186 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, Kgwele said.
State broadcaster SABC said it was believed to have been  caused when a fight broke out and panicked patrons rushed  towards the crowded bar’s sole exit.
Black residential districts known as townships are a legacy  of South Africa’s apartheid regime and many remain areas of  overcrowding and grinding poverty.