Indonesia pres. orders probe after over 170 killed in stadium stampede

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has ordered a safety review of the country’s soccer matches after nearly 175 people were killed and around 180 injured in a stampede triggered by clashes between fans of the nation’s biggest teams and police.

Widodo in a televised statement on Sunday ordered the country's sports and youth minister, national police chief and Indonesian football association (PFFI) chief “to conduct a thorough evaluation of football matches and the security procedures.”

He ordered the country's soccer association (PSSI) to stop Liga 1 matches until the investigation had been concluded, and called for this to be the “last soccer tragedy in the nation.”

At least 174 people were killed and around 180 injured at a soccer match after chaos and violence erupted at an Indonesian soccer stadium in East Java, a police spokesperson said on Sunday.

Police fired tear gas to control the situation after clashes broke out between football fans of the Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya when the supporters from the losing team invaded the pitch, triggering a stampede and cases of suffocation, East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.

“It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars,” Afinta said, adding that the crush occurred when fans fled for an exit gate. According to the reports 13 vehicles were damaged, including 10 police cars.

“They went out to one point at the exit, then there was a buildup – in the process of accumulation there was shortness of breath, lack of oxygen,” he added.

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

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

Video footage from local news channels showed fans streaming onto the pitch in the stadium in Malang after Arema FC lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya. Also images showed people who appeared to have lost consciousness being carried away by other fans.

The PFFI has banned Arema FC from hosting home games for the rest of the season. There have been outbreaks of trouble at matches in Indonesia before, with strong rivalries between clubs sometimes leading to violence among supporters.

Other stadium disasters include a 1989 crush in the stands at the UK’s Hillsborough Stadium, which led to the deaths of 97 Liverpool fans, and the 2012 Port Said stadium tragedy in Egypt where 74 people died in clashes.

In 1964, 320 people were killed and more than 1,000 injured during a stampede at a Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifier at Lima’s national stadium.

Indonesia is scheduled to host the FIFA under-20 World Cup in May and June next year. It is also one of three countries bidding to stage next year's Asian Cup, the continent's equivalent of the Euros, after China pulled out as hosts.

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