Riots between rival Egyptian football fans broke out at a stadium Wednesday evening, killing scores and injuring hundreds in the deadliest incident since the ouster of Mubarak.

The violence 140 miles northeast of Cairo in Port Said, during which the Egyptian Interior Ministry says 74 people died and 248 were injured, was Egypt's deadliest football incident and the deadliest worldwide since 1996, according to Radio Free Europe.

Fans watching Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations (Creative Commons)

Reuters put the number injured at 1,000 or more, and CNN is now reporting that the death toll has risen to at least 79.

Trouble started immediately after the match between Port Said-based Al-Masry and Cairo-based Al-Ahly -- which the underdog home team won 3-1 -- when fans stormed the field. 

Most of those killed were crushed in a stampede, according to authorities.  Witnesses say some fans were stabbed to death.

Al-Ahly player Mohammad Abo Treika, from GulfNews.com:

"This is not football. This is a war and people are dying in front of us. There is no movement and no security and no ambulances," Abo Treika told the Ahli television channel. "I call for the premier league to be cancelled. This is horrible situation and today can never be forgotten."

News of the Port Said violence reached Cairo during a football match there and the referee stopped the match, prompting fans to start fires throughout the stadium.

Egypt's army is being blamed for failing to keep fans at Port Said under control.