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The Ashanti Regional Minister, John Alexander Ackon has revealed that the nine persons who died in a jam stampede at Asawase in the Ashanti region were head porters known in our local parlance as ‘Kayayie’.

According to him, though relatives of the victims showed up at the hospital to identify them, his outfit together with the police are still working hard to locate the direct relations of the victims.

“The victims who lost their lives as a result of the stampede are all kayayie. Those who came to identify them are not direct relations of these people and so we are still trying to identify their close relations to know the next step to be taken,” the Minister told Accra based radio station.

The victims - 6 females and 3 males - lost their lives at a Salah Jam after Wednesday’s Eid-Ul-Fitr celebrations.

The deceased were trapped on the walkway of the exit gate of the Asawase Community center when a false alarm was raised that there was going to be a rancor between two musicians “Fancy Gadam” and another billed to perform at the event.

The bodies were conveyed to the Asawase Community Center for Jannazah Islamic prayers at Dogomorow Park, which was led by Deputy Ashanti regional Chief Imam, Malam Zachariah Aremeyaw, prior to the burial at the Tafo cemetery.

Describing the incident as an event gone bad, Mr. Ackon indicated a team has been set up to investigate the exact cause of the stampede.