At least 174 people have been feared dead in a stampede at a football match in Indonesia — in one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.
The tragedy occurred on Saturday night after a football match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in the eastern city of Malang.
Police in Indonesia said thousands of furious Arema fans invaded the pitch after their team lost the encounter 3-2.
Nico Afinta, East Java police chief, said in an attempt to stop the brawls on the field, officers fired tear gas, triggering the stampede as panicked fans rushed to the exit gates.
“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” BBC quoted Nico to have said.
“We would like to convey that… not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch.
The police chief added that fleeing fans “went out to one point at the exit. Then there was a build-up, in the process of accumulation there was shortness of breath, lack of oxygen”.
About 180 persons were also injured in the stampede as videos on social media show the moment fans were struggling to escape.
