JAKARTA, Oct 2: Indonesian police said on October 2 that at least 174 people had died and 180 were injured after a stampede following crowd trouble at a football match in the province of East Java overnight.
After the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya had ended, supporters from the losing team had invaded the pitch and police had fired tear gas, triggering a stampede and cases of suffocation, East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.
Indonesia’s chief Security Minister Mahfud MD. said that the number of spectators exceeded the capacity of a stadium. In an Instagram post, he said 42,000 tickets had been issued for a stadium that had a capacity to hold 38,000 people.
Video footage from local news channels showed people rushing onto the pitch in the stadium in Malang and images of body bags.
There have been previous outbreaks of trouble at matches in Indonesia, with a strong rivalry between clubs sometimes leading to violence among supporters. (Agencies)
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