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A football match in Indonesia turned violated with an estimated over 175 people having lost their lives after fans invaded the pitch and the police reciprocated with tear gas which triggered a stampede, the authorities confirmed on Sunday. The deadly incident took place at the Kanjuruhan stadium in the eastern city of Malang when supporters of local club Arema FC stormed the field after their team lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya in what was their first loss to their bitter rivals in over two decades.
The Police personnel, who characterised the unrest as 'riots', reportedly tried to persuade the fans to return to the stands but fired tear gas after two officers were killed. Many of the victims were trampled to death, according to police.
"In the incident, 127 people died, two of whom are police officers. Thirty-four people died inside the stadium, and the rest died in hospital," East Java police chief Nico Afinta said in a statement on Sunday. He added that many of the people were crushed and suffocated when they ran to one exit.
Images captured from inside the stadium during the stampede showed huge amounts of tear gas and people trying to climb over fences.
Many vehicles, including a police truck, were torched and they littered the streets outside the stadium on Sunday morning. The Indonesian government apologised for the incident and promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding the stampede.
"We're sorry for this incident... this is a regrettable incident that 'injures' our football at a time when supporters can watch football matches from the stadium," Indonesian Sports and Youth Minister Zainudin Amali told broadcaster Kompas.
"We will thoroughly evaluate the organisation of the match and the attendance of supporters. Will we return to banning supporters from attending the matches? That is what we will discuss."
The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) has suspended football matches for one week and has banned Arema FC from hosting home games for the rest of the season. The association will also send an investigation team to Malang to establish the cause of the crush.
"We're sorry and apologise to families of the victims and all parties over the incident," PSSI chairman Mochamad Iriawan said.
