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32 children among 125 killed during Indonesia stadium stampede, police under fire for ‘overstepping their mark’

  • Police said they tried to force fans – who had stormed the pitch – to return to the stands and fired tear gas after two officers were killed
  • Many victims were trampled or choked to death, according to police. Survivors described panicking spectators in a packed crowd as tear gas rained down

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A riot police officer fires tear gas during a after a football match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java province, Indonesia on Sunday. Photo: Antara Foto/Ari Bowo Sucipto/via Reuters

Indonesia set up an independent team on Monday to investigate a weekend stampede at a football stadium that left 125 people dead, in one of the world’s worst sports disasters.

Fatalities climbed to 32, from an earlier count of 17, a government official said on Monday. The ages of the children range from 3 to 17, Nahar, an official at the women’s empowerment and child protection ministry told Reuters.

“My family and I didn’t think it would turn out like this,” said Endah Wahyuni, the elder sister of two boys, Ahmad Cahyo, 15, and Muhammad Farel, 14, who died after being caught in the melee.

“They loved soccer, but never watched Arema live at Kanjuruhan stadium, this was their first time,” she added at her brothers’ funeral on Sunday, referring to the home side they backed.

Indonesian daily Koran Tempo ran a black front page on Monday, centred on the words “Our Football Tragedy”, printed in red along with a list of the dead.

A victim gets evacuated after getting hit by tear gas fired by Riot police during a riot following the football match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java province, Indonesia on Sunday. Photo: Antara Foto/Ari Bowo Sucipto/via Reuters
A victim gets evacuated after getting hit by tear gas fired by Riot police during a riot following the football match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java province, Indonesia on Sunday. Photo: Antara Foto/Ari Bowo Sucipto/via Reuters
Meanwhile, Indonesian police came under mounting criticism on Sunday after 125 people died in the stampede where officers fired tear gas on angry fans invading the pitch.
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