I wish on behalf of the Ghana police service to apologise for the deaths and injuries as a result of last Wednesday's incident

Police chief Ernest Owusu-Poku

Amid mounting public anger, police chief Ernest Owusu-Poku went on national television to apologise for the tragedy.

"The administration will not shield or protect anybody who the committee finds has broken the law," he said.

President John Kufuor repeated appeals for calm during a memorial service for the victims at Accra's central mosque.

"I am appealing to religious leaders to pray for Ghana in this difficult time and to save us from further turmoil," he told mourners.

Thousands of people attended Friday's funeral ceremonies for 30 of those who died in the stampede.

Overreaction

Mr Kufuor has set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the causes of the disaster, pledging that those found guilty would face "the full rigours of the law".

The trouble started when fans tore up the seats

Many eyewitnesses at the Accra stadium said that police action in dealing with crowd trouble led to panic and caused the crush at the exits.

They say officers overreacted when fans hurled missiles onto the pitch and fired canister after canister of teargas into the stands. Fleeing spectators were trapped inside the locked stadium.

These statements led to a mob attack on an Accra police station on Thursday that had to be dispersed by the police firing shots in the air.

On Friday, police stations in the capital suffered further attacks by mobs chanting anti-police slogans and demanding the return of former President Jerry Rawlings.

Identifying the dead

President Kufuor has announced three days of mourning following the disaster, the worst of four disasters in African stadiums in less than a month.

I am appealing to religious leaders to pray for Ghana in this difficult time and to save us from further turmoil

President Kufuor

He has also formed a funeral committee to organise a state funeral for the deceased.

Distraught relatives have besieged hospitals to identify dead and wounded relatives, leading to scuffles with security personnel.

A disaster fund has been opened to help families of the victims.

Medical officers at Accra's military hospital, which recorded the highest death toll, made an appeal to the British Government for aid to treat those in intensive care.

The medical director there has said that relatives will not be allowed to bury the dead until after post-mortem examinations are conducted.

Minute's silence

The tragedy took place at the Accra Sports Stadium at the big clash between arch-rivals Accra Hearts of Oak and Asante Kotoko.

Police over-reaction is being blamed for the stampede

Hearts of Oak had come from a goal down to defeat Kotoko 2-1. The result prompted an angry reaction from the away fans.

A CAF (Confederation of African Football) cup match scheduled this weekend will go ahead between Goldfields and Angolan side AS Aviacao.

The match could not be postponed because the Angolans had already left Luanda for Ghana.

A minute's silence will be observed before the kick-off on Sunday.