Indonesia: Several victims were crushed or strangled to death, according to police.
Jakarta:
At least 125 people were killed at an Indonesian football stadium after thousands of angry home fans stormed the pitch and police fired tear gas shells, sparking a stampede, officials said on Sunday.
According to police, Saturday night’s tragedy in Malang city, in which 323 were injured, was one of the deadliest sports stadium disasters in the world.
Arema FC supporters march on the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium after their team lost 3–2 to visiting team and bitter rivals, Persebaya Surabaya.
Police, which described the unrest as “riots”, said they tried to force fans to return to the stands and fired tear gas after two officers were killed.
According to the police, many of the victims were crushed or put to death.
At least 125 people died, East Java’s deputy governor Emil Dardak told broadcaster Metro TV on Sunday evening, significantly reducing the authorities’ earlier death toll to 174 due to the double count.
“Some names were recorded twice because they were referred to another hospital and rewritten,” he said, citing data collected by local police from 10 hospitals.
Survivors described panicked spectators in the crowded crowd as tear gas rained down on them.
“The officers fired tear gas, and spontaneously people were running to come out, pushing each other and it caused many victims,” Donnie, 43, a spectator told AFP.
“Nothing was happening, there was no riot. I don’t know what was the matter, they suddenly let out tear gas. It shocked me, didn’t they think of children, women?”
President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into the tragedy, a security review of all football matches and directed the country’s football federation to suspend all matches until “security improvements” were completed.
A hospital director told local TV that one of the victims was five years old.
Photos taken from inside the stadium during the stampede show police firing massive amounts of tear gas and people climbing over fences.
Amnesty International called for an investigation into why tear gas was deployed in a confined space, saying it should only be used “when other methods have failed”.
People carried injured spectators amid the commotion and survivors pulled lifeless bodies out of the stadium.
“It was so terrifying, so shocking,” 22-year-old Sam Gillang, who lost three friends in a crush, told AFP.
He said, “People were pushing each other and… on the way to the exit door many people were crushed. My eyes were burning because of the tear gas. Luckily I managed to climb the fence and survived. Gone.”
permanent violence
Video footage circulated on social media showed people shouting obscenities at the police, who were wearing riot shields and using batons.
On Sunday morning, fire-laden vehicles, including police trucks, were scattered on the streets outside the stadium.
The stadium holds 42,000 people and officials said it was sold out. Police said 3,000 people came to the pitch.
Fan violence is an enduring problem in Indonesia, where deep rivalry has previously turned into a deadly confrontation.
Arema FC and Persbaya Surabaya have been rivals for a long time.
Persebay Surabaya fans were not allowed to buy tickets for the game due to fears of violence.
However, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Mahfud MD said that the organizers ignored the recommendation to print fewer tickets and hold matches in the afternoon instead of the evening.
On Sunday, Arema fans threw flower petals at the club’s lion mascot memorial outside the stadium to pay tribute to the victims.
In Jakarta more than 300 football fans, including some diehards known as “ultras”, gathered to light a candle outside the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, Indonesia’s largest. Some said “Killers!” And burst firecrackers.
mourning in the football world
The football world mourned the disaster with Gianni Infantino, president of world football governing body FIFA, calling the stampede “a tragedy beyond comprehension”.
Manchester United and Barcelona posted tributes online, while Spanish football clubs were to observe a minute’s silence before matches on Sunday as a mark of respect.
The German Football Association and Italy’s Serie A also tweeted condolences.
The Asian Football Confederation, the governing body for football in the region, expressed regret at the loss of life.
PSSI Secretary General Yunus Yusi told a news conference that the Indonesia Football Association (PSSI) is in contact with FIFA over the stampede and hopes to avoid sanctions.
FIFA safety guidelines prohibit the carrying of crowd control gas by police or stewards along the side of the pitch.
Indonesia is to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May.
It is also bidding along with South Korea and Qatar to replace China as the host of the 2023 Asian Cup, with a decision to be made this month.
Other stadium disasters include the 1989 crush at Hillsborough Stadium in Britain, which killed 97 Liverpool fans, and the 2012 Port Said Stadium tragedy in Egypt where clashes killed 74.
In 1964, 320 people were killed and more than 1,000 were injured during a stampede at the Peru-Argentina Olympic Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Lima.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)