CAIRO - More than 53 Future University students were injured when a stage fell through a packed musical show by famous singer Amr Diab on Friday night, triggering a panicked stampede, officials said Saturday. The students suffered minor wounds when the stage fell during the Diab performance, the officials said, adding early investigations showed that overload on the stage by enthusiastic fans, who were eager to shake hands with Diab, was the main cause for the incident. More than 30 ambulance cars rushed the wounded students to the nearby the National Bank One Day Surgery Hospital, a police officer said, adding that the victims were in a stable condition and would be released shortly. Audience members told police investigators that it was soon obvious that something wrong would happen after Diab appeared as hundreds of students climbed the stage to hug and shake hands with their beloved singer. "The students continued jumping to the stage for a minute or so until it fell with them. But, Diab was not hurt because he ran to the far end of the stage," they said. "The total number of wounded students reached 53," Minister of Health Dr Hatem el- Gabali said, adding that none of them was critical and would be discharged shortly.
