125 dead in Indonesia football match stampede

Asia-Pacific, News October 3, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

At least 125 people have been reported dead due to injuries and suffocation while hundreds have been injured stampede at a football stadium in Indonesia’s East Java province.

The tragic incident took place in the city of Malang in the East Java province after the match between Arema Football Club and its rival contender Persebaya Surabaya was concluded with a scoreline of 2-3 on the hot and humid evening of October 1, 2022. After facing a defeat at the hands of its rival football club at its home ground, frustrated fans of the Arema FC stormed the pitch.

Police tried to contain the crowd by firing teargas shells onto the charging crowd. This resulted in a chaotic stampede across the pitch and at the gates of the stadium claiming several lives on the spot while leaving hundreds with fatal injuries and marking one of the world’s deadliest stadium disasters.

NEW – Over 100 people were killed tonight in riots that broke out at a football match in Indonesia.pic.twitter.com/hGZEwQyHmL
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) October 1, 2022

In the initial reports, East Java Deputy governor Emil Dardak stated that at least 174 people have been dead due to the incident, however, the officials later corrected the figures to 125 based on the data collected from the 10 different hospitals in the city.

Many of the victims were rushed to the nearest Kanjuruhan hospital. The hospital sources reported that most of the victims suffered from trauma, shortness of breath, and a lack of oxygen due to the large number of people at the scene and the tear gas.

*^{People stand next to a damaged car following a riot after a football match in Indonesia’s East Java province on October 2, 2022. (Image Credit: Reuters)}*

Many experts believe that the situation could not have gotten worse if the police had not fired tear gas at the crowd. Firing teargas shells resulted in a chaotic mass stampede towards the stadium’s exit gates, resulting in several deaths.

East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters that “It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars.” Nico added that the fatal crush occurred when fans fled towards the exit gate.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino released a statement on the issue stating that the stampede incident marks “a dark day for all involved in football and a tragedy beyond comprehension.”

Football rivalry and post-match clashes are not new in Indonesia. The stadium situation gets really intense during a match between rival clubs. Indonesia’s local football club matches are notorious for their post-match chaotic fights and clashes between the fans. The match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya was no exception, which is why riot police and other security personnel were already present at the stadium to control the situation.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said that authorities must thoroughly evaluate security at football matches. He further added that he hopes this would be “the last football tragedy in the nation”.