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At least 129 people were killed and dozens injured following violence at a football match in Indonesia, Reuters reported, citing police. The incident occurred during a football match of Indonesia’s top league BRI Liga 1 at the Kanjuluhan Stadium in Malang district, East Java province, on Saturday night.
The police chief of Indonesia’s East Java province, Nico Affenta, told reporters that after the game between Arema FC and Surabaya, supporters of the losing side broke into the stadium, leading to a stampede and suffocation, for which authorities had to fire tear gas .
“Thirty-four people died in the stadium and the rest died in the hospital,” Nico said in a statement on Sunday.
Video footage posted on social media showed people rushing onto the pitch of Malang Stadium, along with images of body bags.
“It’s become anarchic. They start attacking the police, they damage cars,” Nico said, adding that the infatuation occurred as fans fled for the exit.
The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) issued a statement late Saturday expressing regret over the incident and saying a team had travelled to Malang to start an investigation into what happened after the match
“PSSI regrets the actions of Arema supporters at Kanjuruhan Stadium. We apologise to the families of the victims and all parties involved in the incident. For this reason, PSSI immediately set up an investigation team and went to Malang immediately,” the statement read.
The unrest killed at least 127 people and injured 180, and the league has been suspended for a week. Arema Football Club has also been banned from hosting matches for the remainder of the season.
“We announced this decision after receiving instructions from the PSSI chairman. We did this out of respect, while awaiting the PSSI’s investigation process,” said Ahmed Hadian Lukita, president of alliance owner PT LIB. (Akhmad Hadian Lukita) said.
(Contributed by Reuters, AFP)
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