Manila Philippines ? A stampede broke out early today outside a stadium near Manila where thousands had lined up to watch a popular game show, and at least 66 people were trampled to death, an official said.

About 30,000 people were waiting to get inside the stadium to watch the popular game show “Wowowee” when the mayhem erupted, said Vicente Eusebio, mayor of Pasig, the Manila suburb where the stampede occurred. He said at least 66 people died – all but three of them women.

Dozens of injured were rushed to hospitals, which quickly became overwhelmed and began using parking lots to accommodate them, Radio DZBB reported.

Merquieades Salazar cried over the body of his wife, who was among those crushed. Salazar, 45, said the couple were jobless and wanted to try their luck at winning a raffle with a jackpot equivalent to $384.

“In the desire to win money, she is the one I lost,” Salazar sobbed as he stroked his dead wife’s hair. “We both fell and we were both pinned to the ground.”

It was not immediately clear what caused the stampede.

Lito Vergel de Dios, executive director of Metro Manila Development Authority, told a Manila radio station that one witness said somebody in the crowd shouted there was a bomb, but there was no sign of any explosion.

Other witness accounts carried by Manila radio said the stampede erupted when guards refused to open the gates to the stadium, causing pushing and shoving among those in the crowd.

Authorities were collecting the dead and lining up the bodies on the side of a street outside the stadium for identification as bags and shoes lay scattered outside the hall.

Police Supt. Gerry Galvan said at least 50 people died at the stadium and the rest at hospitals where they were taken. Soldiers loaded some of the bodies into a truck.

Vice President Noli de Castro arrived at the scene, giving instructions to police to clear the area of people and cars to make things easier for rescue workers.

“We did not want this to happen. It’s just that there were so many people wanting to watch ‘Wowowee’ because of the big prizes awaiting them,” de Castro said.

People had lined up for two days to get tickets for the show, organized by ABS-CBN TV.