The death toll from one of football’s worst disasters at a Premier League match in Malang, Indonesia, rose to 174 on Sunday morning.
The Indonesian Super League has suspended competition for a week following the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster.
After a match in which Persibaya Surabaya beat Arima 3-2, supporters of the losing team stormed the pitch and authorities fired tear gas canisters, causing a stampede and cases of suffocation, East Java provincial police chief Nico Aventa told reporters.
“Everything turned into chaos, fans started attacking officers and damaging cars,” Nikko said, adding that the stampede occurred as fans ran towards the exit gate.
Indonesian Security Minister Muhammad Mahfouz reported on Instagram that the stadium’s stands were filled with more than its capacity, indicating that 42,000 tickets were on sale, even though the stadium had a capacity of only 38,000 people.
Riots and violence have taken place in previous matches in the Asian country in light of the strong competition between some of the clubs.
The Indonesian Football Association said it would launch an investigation into the events.
Indonesian Sports Minister Zinedine Amalie confirmed to Kompas TV that the authorities will review security measures at football matches to keep fans out of matches following the tragedy.
With the love of the Indonesian media, we started chaos when the fans rushed onto the pitch after his team lost to Persibai.
The police attempted to disperse the crowd of fans storming the stadium by using tear gas, and tear gas was used in the stands, causing the fans to panic and flee quickly, aggravating the situation and increasing the number of deaths.
“We regret this incident… it’s an unfortunate incident,” Indonesian Sports and Youth Minister Zinedine Amalie told Kompas. “Our football is at a time when fans can watch football matches from the stadium.”
