At least 17 people have died and dozens have been injured in a stampede at a football stadium in Angola.

Panic was reported to have spread through the crowd at a league match in the northern town of Uige between Santa Rita de Cassia and Recreativo de Libolo.

"There was a blockage at the entrance to the January 4 Stadium. This obstruction caused multiple fatalities and there are 56 injured in the hospital," police spokesman Orlando Bernardo told the AFP news agency.

Ernesto Luis, director general of the local hospital in northern Angola, added: "There had been a push that led to the suffocation of people. Some people had to walk on the top of other people. There was 76 casualties, of whom 17 died."

The Angolan government has demanded an investigation into the cause of the disaster, the state-run Angop news agency has reported.