“People were pushing each other and … several people were crushed on the way to the exit door,” the 22-year-old survivor told AFP.
The spectators – including women and children – pushed on and stepped on each other, gasping for air, to reach any exit at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang city, passing through the thatched roof, East Java,
Police said several victims were crushed or mauled to death, in what remains one of the worst disasters in the history of the sport.
Gilang lost three of his friends to a crush. “It was so terrifying, so shocking,” he said.
A domino effect of tragic events unfolded after the final whistle in a 3–2 victory for visiting team Persebaya Surabaya – the bitter rivals of Malang City – Arema FC.
Several thousand fans descended on the pitch – some annoyed, some who wanted to join the crowd to shake hands with players from home team Arema FC after losing to their fiercest rivals.
From the crowd with horns and obscenities at the police, he saw his fellow fans running across the grass.
But police tried to get back into confined stands, pushing fans with their batons and riot shields.
They then fired tear gas shells on the roofs in front of the stadium’s exit gates 12 and 13.
Police said a “riot” had taken place, but some witnesses rejected the description of the events.
“There was no riot. I don’t know what the matter was. They suddenly let out tear gas,” Donnie, 43, told AFP.
“That’s what surprised me, didn’t they think of children, women?”
The rain of canisters caused panic, forcing hundreds of people to rush out.
Fian, 17, declined to give his last name, saying, “The smoke spread everywhere, I was struck and I was terrified. There was already a lot of crowd at the exit. I was confused and scared what to take Go.”
With his eyes stinging and unable to breathe, Fian recalls people shouting to each other, “Escape to the emergency exit on your left!” – Directing potentially hundreds to a door just wide enough for one person.
Those who managed to get out carried the lifeless bodies out of the stadium, causing fury among the fledgling spectators.
When the officers tried to escort them out of the stadium, supporters threw stones, plastic bottles and any object at the police.
By tossing down police cars and trucks, furious fans set them on fire to avenge what had happened.
“The police were so arrogant, they could only give instructions to the supporters,” Gilang said. “It’s enough to use batons, no need to use tear gas.”
Back at the stadium, a friend of Gilang’s lay dead in the home team’s changing room, having been crushed to death.
Soon after, Indonesia is grappling with its own Hillsborough moment – the 1987 disaster in England that killed 97 Liverpool fans during the FA Cup semi-final.
President Joko Widodo said an investigation into Indonesia’s tragedy would be accompanied by a security review of all football matches – which have been suspended until “security improvements” are completed.
But reform or not, “now my parents said I’m not allowed to watch football anymore,” said survivor Fian.