An official of the Kamuzu Central Hospital briefs Malawi President Peter Mutharika (C) and First Lady Gertrude Mutharika (1st-R) as they visit several injured people due to a stampede at the newly open Bingu Wa Mutharika Stadium in the Capital Lilongwe during the celebrations of the republic's 53rd anniversary on July 6, 2017. Eight people are confirmed dead, eight of them children, and over 40 others got injured as they scrambled to enter the stadium. Pic/AFP

Seven children and one adult were killed in a stampede at Malawi's national stadium on Thursday as large crowds gathered for independence day celebrations, police said.