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The use of tear gas triggered mass panic, police said
Photo: STR/AFP
According to the authorities, at least 125 people died in serious riots after a soccer game in Malang in the Indonesian province of East Java.
The number has been corrected several times.
The first reports spoke of more than 129 fatalities, after which the authorities spoke of 174 dead.
East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak later said data from 10 hospitals in the region eventually revealed 125 deaths.
About 180 people are also in critical condition in the hospital.
Angry fans stormed a soccer field at the game, police said, after their Arema FC club lost the game 3-2 to arch-rivals Persebaya Surabaya, their first home defeat in more than two decades.
The police then tried to persuade the fans to return to the stands.
She fired tear gas into the crowd, which police said sparked a stampede.
At one exit there was a traffic jam and "shortness of breath and lack of oxygen," said police chief Afinta.
Trampled to death
Many of the victims were therefore trampled to death.
34 people died on the field of Kanjuruhan Stadium, all others in hospitals, Afinta said, according to radio station Elshinta and station tvOne.
Two police officers were also among the fatalities.
Video footage from local TV stations shows crowds pouring onto the pitch.
Then it comes to fisticuffs and wafts of fog can be seen, which are apparently tear gas.
Pictures of people who have apparently lost consciousness and are carried away by other fans can also be seen.
The head of a local hospital told Metro TV some of the victims suffered brain injuries.
A five-year-old child was among the dead.
The Kanjuruhan Stadium holds a total of 42,000 spectators and was sold out according to the authorities.
Flared vehicles, including a police vehicle, lined the streets outside the stadium on Sunday morning.
No home games for the rest of the season
The Arema and Persebaya football clubs expressed their condolences to the victims and their families.
The Indonesian government also apologized for the incident.
She promised to investigate the circumstances of the stampede.
"We regret this incident," said the Indonesian Minister of Sport and Youth, Zainudin Amali, on the television station Kompas.
Arema were banned from playing home games for the remainder of the season.
East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said financial aid would be given to the injured and families of the victims.
In a speech, Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for a "thorough" investigation.
According to his own statements, he also ordered that the game operations in the first division be stopped until the investigations and improvements had been evaluated by the Indonesian association PSSI.
Widodo expressed his condolences to the victims.
"I deeply regret this tragedy and hope this will be the last football tragedy in this country."
There have been repeated riots and violence among supporters of various clubs at games in Indonesia.
Indonesia's Sports Minister Zainudin Amali told the broadcaster KompasTV after the accident that he would reassess the safety of football games and also consider not allowing spectators in stadiums for the time being.
The world football association Fifa stipulates that stewards and police officers in stadiums are not allowed to carry or use firearms or tear gas.
East Java Police did not initially respond to a request if they were aware of such regulations.
President Widodo announced an investigation into the actions of the security forces.
Indonesia is hosting the Under 20 World Cup in May and June 2023.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino said the football world was in "shock".
It was a "dark day for everyone involved in football and an unimaginable tragedy".
Infantino expressed his condolences to the "families and friends of the victims who lost their lives following this tragic incident".
Spanish football will observe a minute's silence on Sunday to commemorate the victims.
This was announced by the league and the Spanish association.
Not the first spectator panic in football
The accident at the British Hillsborough Stadium (Sheffield) in 1989 is considered one of the most devastating worldwide, when too many people were allowed into an already overcrowded fan block during the cup match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest.
A mass panic ensued in which 96 fans died, last year a 97th spectator died as a result of the injuries sustained.
In 2016, a commission of inquiry came to the conclusion that serious mistakes by the police had caused the accident.
In 2012, 74 people died in a stadium riot in Port Said, Egypt, after a football match.
In 1964, a stampede during an Olympic qualifying match between Peru and Argentina at the National Stadium in Lima killed 320 and injured more than 1,000.
Editor's note: An earlier version of the text said the accident at Hillsborough Stadium was caused by a collapse of a stand. In fact, the stampede happened because there were too many people in the fan block. The article also said that the police used tear gas after two police officers were killed. It is currently not clear whether this sequence of events is correct. It was also initially said that Arema had not lost to Persebaya for more than decades. In fact, this series only applied to Arema home games. We corrected the spots.
wbr/mrk/dpa/AFP/Reuters/sid
