Indonesia soccer death toll revised to 125

Stanley Widianto, Stefanno Sulaiman and Yuddy Cahya Budiman |

More than 120 fans have died after a crowd stampede at an Indonesian soccer match, local police say.
More than 120 fans have died after a crowd stampede at an Indonesian soccer match, local police say.

The death toll from a stampede at a soccer stadium in Indonesia’s East Java province has been revised down to 125, a government official has said.

East Java Deputy governor Emil Dardak said data cross-checked from 10 hospitals in the area showed there were 125 fatalities, despite officials having earlier put the figure as high as 174.

Local officials said the final number of those injured was 323.

The deaths occurred in a stampede and riot in what will go down as one of the world’s worst stadium disasters.

When frustrated supporters of losing home team Arema invaded the pitch in Malang, East Java late on Saturday, officers fired tear gas in an attempt to control the situation

A stampede was triggered, with many dying from suffocation, East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.

“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” Nico said, adding the crush occurred when fans fled for an exit gate.

Video footage from local news channels showed fans streaming onto the pitch after Arema lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya. 

Scuffles can be seen, with what appeared to be tear gas in the air.

Images showed people who appeared to have lost consciousness being carried away by other fans.

The head of one of the hospitals in the area treating patients told Metro TV some of the victims had sustained brain injuries and the fatalities included a five-year-old child.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo said authorities must thoroughly evaluate security at matches, adding he hoped this would be “the last soccer tragedy in the nation”.

Jokowi, as the president is known, ordered the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) to suspend all games in the top league, BRI Liga 1, until an investigation is completed.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA specifies in its safety regulations no firearms or “crowd control gas” should be carried or used by stewards or police.

East Java police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were aware of such regulations.

FIFA has requested a report on the incident, and a team from the sport’s governing in Indonesia has been sent to Malang to investigate, PSSI secretary general Yunus Nusi said.

Indonesia’s human rights commission also plans to investigate security at the ground, including the use of tear gas, its commissioner told Reuters.

Amnesty International Indonesia slammed the security measures, saying the “use of excessive force by the state … to contain or control such crowds cannot be justified at all”.

The country’s chief security minister, Mahfud MD, said in an Instagram post the stadium had been filled beyond its capacity. He alleged 42,000 tickets had been issued for a stadium that is only supposed to hold 38,000 people.

Financial aid would be given to the injured and the families of victims, East Java Governor Khofifah Indar Parawansa said.

Indonesia’s football scene has been blighted by hooliganism, heavy-handed policing and mismanagement, largely preventing the country of 275 million people who pack stadiums from harnessing its potential in the sport.

Zainudin Amali, Indonesia’s sports minister, told KompasTV the ministry would re-evaluate safety at football matches, including considering not allowing spectators.

The Malang stadium disaster appears to be the deadliest since 1964, when 328 people were reported dead in a riot and crush when Peru hosted Argentina at the Estadio Nacional in Lima.

Indonesia is scheduled to host the FIFA under-20 World Cup in May and June next year. 

They are also one of three countries bidding to stage next year’s Asian Cup, after China pulled out as hosts.

The head of the Asian Football Confederation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said in a statement he was “deeply shocked and saddened to hear such tragic news coming out of football-loving Indonesia”.

Reuters