125 dead after Indonesia football match tear gas stampede; Fifa president says ‘dark day for football’
- Victims of clashes between supporters of two Indonesian teams in East Java were trampled or suffocated to death after tear gas fired
- Indonesian government apologises, promises to investigate, Amnesty International Indonesia slams ‘excessive force by the state’
More than 120 people were killed and over 300 injured in a stampede at a football stadium in Indonesia after police sought to quell violence on the pitch, officials said on Sunday, in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.
Officers fired tear gas in an attempt to disperse agitated supporters of the losing home side who invaded the pitch after the final whistle in Malang, East Java, on Saturday night, the region’s police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.
“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” he said, adding that the crush occurred when fans fled for an exit gate.
East Java Deputy Governor Emil Dardak and the local disaster agency initially put the death toll at 174 on Sunday afternoon, but he later said that figure may have included duplicate fatalities before the authorities lowered it to 125, saying some victims were counted twice.
Most were trampled to death after the tear gas was fired. An East Java police spokesperson said 323 people were injured, up from the initial count of 180.
Riots broke out after the game ended on Saturday evening with host Arema FC of East Java’s Malang city losing to Persebaya of Surabaya 3-2.
