At least 60 people were killed in Ivory Coast’s economic capital, Abidjan, as a New Year’s fireworks celebration turned into a deadly stampede early on Tuesday.

The panic struck as the crowd of thousands was leaving the sprawling stadium in the downtown Plateau neighborhood after the last fireworks had signaled the new year. In the crush, dozens were trampled underfoot, officials in Abidjan said Tuesday.

Many were pushed into a small gully adjoining the Houphouët-Boigny stadium on the Boulevard de la République, in the heart of the city’s compact central business district, then were crushed as the panicked crowd surged over them.

Children seemed to be among the injured and dead: the state television station, RTI, showed images of wounded children in a city hospital, as well as pregnant women stretched on cots.