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Deadly stampede in Indonesia kills 174, football clubs mourn death of fans at Kanjuruhan Stadium

The tragedy which took place on Saturday night was one of the world's deadliest sporting stadium disasters.

Deadly stampede in Indonesia kills 174, football clubs mourn death of fans at Kanjuruhan Stadium
Indonesia soccer match kills at least 174 people

Last Updated: 03.02 PM, Oct 02, 2022

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Considered one of the world's deadliest sporting stadium disasters, the incident on Saturday saw at least 174 people get killed and around 180 left injured after a deadly stampede took place at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia. 

The chaos had broken out following the match between arch-rivals Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya in East Java. 

Arema FC lost the game 3-2 and that resulted in the fans of the club storming onto the pitch. To control the angry fans, police responded with tear gas which triggered the stampede, authorities said Sunday.

"At 9:30 am (0230 GMT) the death toll was 158, at 10:30 am the figure rose to 174 deaths. That's the data collected by the East Java disaster mitigation agency," East Java deputy governor Emil Dardak told broadcaster Kompas TV

Police, who had described the unrest as "riots" added that they had tried to force the fans to return back to the stands and had fired tear gas after two officers were killed.

President Joko Widodo, who ordered an investigation, said, "I deeply regret this tragedy and I hope this football tragedy will be the last in our country".

With pictures and videos circulating of the deadly incident, many football clubs - Premier League, Seria A, La Liga - including football players have come forward to mourn the death of these fans.

The authorities had also said that the stadium which holds 42,000 people was a sell-out. According to police, 3,000 people had stormed the pitch.

Torched vehicles, including a police truck, were seen littered on the streets outside the stadium. Police reported that 13 vehicles in total were damaged.

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