JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Media reports in Malawi say eight people, including children, have been killed in a stadium stampede during an independence day celebration.

The Daily Times, a newspaper in Malawi, reported that more than 40 people were injured in the stampede on Thursday in Lilongwe, the capital.

The newspaper says the dead include children between five and 12 years old.

It says the accident happened when police used tear gas to disperse a crowd that tried to push into the stadium to watch a soccer match. The game was part of commemorations of Malawi's independence from Britain on July 6, 1964.