One of the deadliest stadium tragedies in history occurred at an Indonesian football game, where at least 125 people perished in a crush.
In the aftermath of the home team Arema FC’s defeat to ferocious rivals at the packed stadium late on Saturday in Malang, East Java, hundreds were also harmed.
After police used tear gas to disperse people who had entered the pitch, the crush occurred.
Thousands rushed towards the exits of Kanjuruhan stadium as panic ensued; several of them suffocated.
According to Fifa, who oversees football worldwide, neither stewards nor police officers at games should possess nor employ “crowd control gas.”
Gianni Infantino, the organization’s president, described it as “a tragic event beyond comprehension” and “a horrible day for those involved in football.”
According to one witness who spoke to the BBC, police shot multiple rounds of tear gas “continuously and rapidly” as the situation with the supporters become “heated.”
A breach in the wall next to one exit gate illustrates the desperate attempts to flee the ensuing crush.
Candles have been placed by supporters near to the gate in memory of the victims.
Because of the immense amount of force coming from the inside, the doors themselves are tilted outward.
Eyewitness Muhamad Dipo Maulana, 21, who was at the game, described it to BBC Indonesian as “bang, bang, bang.” He said that after the game, a few Arema fans attempted to confront the players on the field but were quickly stopped by police and “pummelling.”
The supporter claimed that other spectators later entered the field of play in protest and that the atmosphere grew “heated.”
According to Mr. Dipo, “police with dogs, shields, and troops came forward.”
He claimed to have heard almost 20 shots of tear gas fired toward stadium patrons.
“There was a lot of banging noises. The sound came quickly and continuously. All of the stands were affected by the loud sound “Added he.
Mr. Dipo claimed to have observed spectators scrambling, panicked, and suffocating as they attempted to exit the stadium. The eyewitness claimed that many youngsters and elderly persons were impacted by the tear gas.
The worst football disaster ever
The stampede is one of a tragically long list of stadium mishaps, ranking among the worst.
At a Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifying match in Lima in 1964, a stampede resulted in 320 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries.
During the European Cup final between Liverpool (England) and Juventus in 1985, supporters were pushed against a wall that later collapsed, resulting in 39 fatalities and 600 injuries at the Heysel stadium in Brussels, Belgium (Italy).
At the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England, a crush occurred in 1989, killing 97 Liverpool supporters who were there for their team’s FA Cup semifinal match against Nottingham Forest.
