Eight people have died and 28 have been injured in a stampede during food handouts at a youth centre in Zambia.

People were crushed when some of the thousands gathered began to force their way into the Olympic Youth Development Centre, police spokeswoman Esther Katongo said.

The dead include six women, one man and one boy, she added.

The food parcels, being distributed by a church charity, included a 10kg meal bag, sugar, soya pieces, cooking oil and one head of cabbage per person, the Open Zambia news website reported.

An investigation is underway.