BRAZZAVILLE -- At least 37 people were killed in a stampede at the Stade Michel d'Ornano in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, late Monday, according to a statement by the Congolese government Tuesday.

"The provisional toll established by the emergency services shows 37 dead and many injured," the statement said. "A crisis unit has been set up under the authority of the Prime Minister," it added, without further details on the causes of the tragedy.

According to witnesses, the tragedy occurred at night around 11 p.m., local time, following a stampede among hundreds of young Congolese who had come to the stadium where recruitment into the Congolese Armed Forces was to take place.

The Congolese authorities have planned this year to recruit 1,500 young people into the ranks of the Congolese Armed Forces.