A crush at an Indonesian football match has killed at least 174, people making it one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.
Around 180 people were also injured in the aftermath of Arema FC loss to bitter rivals, at an overcrowded stadium in Malang East Java late on Saturday.
The crush occurred after police used tear gas on fans who had invaded the pitch. As panic spread, thousands rushed to the Kanjuruhan stadium exits, where many died from suffocation.
According to one eyewitness, police fired numerous tear gas rounds “constantly and quickly” after the situation with the fans became “tense.”
According to Fifa, the world’s governing football body, no “crowd control gas” should be carried or used by stewards or police officers at matches.
Fifa President Gianni Infantino called it a “dark day for football and a tragedy beyond comprehension.”
‘It had become anarchic,’ police said.
Early reports put the death toll at around 130, but officials later raised it to 174, with 11 more seriously injured.
President Joko Widodo has ordered that all matches in Indonesia’s top flight be halted until an investigation is completed.
Police used tear gas, causing a crowd crush and suffocation cases. Videos from the stadium show fans running onto the pitch after the final whistle, signaling the home team’s 2-3 defeat, and police responding with tear gas..
Another football tragedy happened in Ghana, a West African country in the year 2001. 127 loving fans lost their live in a Rivalry game between, Hearts Of Oak and Asante Kotoko at the Accra Sports Stadium. As per report more 350 people sustain massive injuries and this incidence brought the whole continent in sorrow.
— Ferdinand A Baah
