Indonesian football match stampede: One of the worst sports tragedies, kills 125 people.

Indonesian football match stampede: One of the worst sporting stadium accidents in the history of the planet occurred on Saturday night in the eastern city of Malang, which also sustained over 180 injuries.

Authorities in Jakarta said that at least 125 people died at an Indonesian football stadium when thousands of enraged home fans flooded the field and police fired tear gas in response, causing a stampede.

One of the deadliest athletic stadium accidents ever, the tragedy on Saturday night in Malang left 323 people injured, according to the authorities.

At the Kanjuruhan stadium, Arema FC supporters entered the field to protest their side’s 3-2 defeat to Persebaya Surabaya, a visiting team and fierce rival.

After two cops were killed, police stated they tried to coerce people into returning to the stands and fired tear gas. They termed the unrest as “riots.”

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Police claim that many of the victims were either choked to death or trampled to death.

According to East Java deputy governor Emil Dardak, 125 people died, much fewer than the 174 persons initially reported by officials due to double counting.

According to data gathered by local police from 10 hospitals, “some names were recorded twice because they had been referred to another hospital and were written down again.”

Those who survived described a crowded area filled with horrified onlookers as tear gas rained down on them.

Officers fired tear gas, which immediately encouraged people to run outside and push one another, resulting in numerous casualties, said Doni, a 43-year-old bystander who declined to provide his last name to AFP.

“There was no rioting, nothing was happening. I have no idea why they suddenly started using tear gas. That’s what surprised me—they didn’t consider women or children.”

President Joko Widodo also directed the national football organisation to cease all games until “security adjustments” were implemented, in addition to ordering an investigation into the catastrophe and a safety assessment of all football events.

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A hospital director confirmed on local news that one of the casualties was a five-year-old child.

Images from inside the stadium during the rush showed cops firing a lot of tear gas and people climbing the fences.

Amnesty International demanded a probe of the deployment of tear gas in a limited area, arguing that it ought to be reserved for situations in which all other options have been exhausted.

Through the commotion, people carried hurt fans, while those still alive dragged the dead out of the stadium.

The 22-year-old survivor Sam Gilang, who lost three companions in the crush, told AFP that it was “so terrible, so shocking.”

“On their way to the exit gate, people were trampling each other and pushing each other. The tear gas had caused my eyes to burn. Fortunately, I was able to scale the barrier and make it through “said he.

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Indonesian football match stampede: enduring aggression

People were seen cursing at police in social media video footage as they were armed with batons and riot shields.

On Sunday morning, there were several burned-out vehicles, including a police van, all over the streets around the stadium.

The stadium’s 42,000 seats, according to the authorities, were completely taken. The cops said about 3,000 individuals invaded the field.

Fan violence is an ongoing problem in Indonesia, where fierce rivalries have in the past led to deadly conflicts.

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Indonesian football match stampede: Longtime rivals Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya.

Due to worries of violence, Persebaya Surabaya supporters were not permitted to purchase tickets for the game.

The match should have been played in the afternoon rather than the evening, according to Mahfud MD, Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs.

In remembrance of the victims, Arema supporters threw flowers at the club’s lion mascot memorial on Sunday.

Up to 300 football fans, including some ardent “ultras,” gathered in Jakarta for a candlelit vigil. Outside the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, the largest in Indonesia. Some others lit firecrackers while chanting “Murderer!”

Indonesian football match stampede: football community laments

The disaster was lamented by the football community, with Gianni Infantino. President of FIFA, describing the stampede as “a tragedy beyond description.”

While Spanish football clubs were to observe a minute of silence. Before games on Sunday as a show of respect, Manchester United and Barcelona paid their respects online.

Both the Italian Serie A and the German football association offered their condolences.

The Asian Football Confederation, which oversees football in the area, expressed its sorrow over the deaths.

PSSI secretary general Yunus Yussi stated during a press conference. That the PSSI was in contact with FIFA over the stampede and hoped to avoid sanctions.

The use of crowd control gas at pitchside is prohibited by FIFA safety regulations for both police and stewards.

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The FIFA Under-20 World Cup will take place in Indonesia in May.

Along with South Korea and Qatar, it is also competing for the right to host. The 2023 Asian Cup in place of China, with a decision expected this month.

Other stadium tragedies include the confrontations that claimed 74 lives in Egypt’s Port. Said stadium in 2012 and the 1989 crush at Britain’s Hillsborough Stadium, which killed 97 Liverpool fans.

In Lima’s National Stadium, a stampede during an Olympic qualifying match between Peru. And Argentina in 1964 left 320 people dead and more than 1,000 wounded.

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