Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki and world boxing champion Lennox Lewis yesterday joined families at Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium to mourn the 43 people killed in South Africa's worst sporting accident.
Bouquets were scattered across the field where on Wednesday emergency workers had laid out the bodies of the 43 people, including two boys aged 11 and 13, killed in a crush.
"Too many in our country die from unnatural causes," Mr Mbeki said before he and his wife, Zanele, laid a pair of white wreaths on the field close to the gate where most victims died.
"They die from crime. They die from road accidents. They die at places of work. Too many die from unnatural causes. We should not add to that by having people die at places of the celebration of life, such as our sports competitions," he said.
Mr Mbeki on Thursday appointed a judge to conduct an inquiry into the cause of the accident.