The invasion of the field after a football match and the intervention of the police caused a deadly crowd movement, Saturday, October 1, in Malang, on the island of Java (Indonesia). According to the local police chief, 129 people died, a toll that could still increase. The reasons for such a tragedy remain unclear.
Arema FC, a first division team, hosted a rival club from the same region, Persebaya Surabaya. At the end of the meeting, won by the visitors, local supporters entered the lawn of the Kanjuruhan stadium.
According to the police, which evokes “riots”, the police then tried to persuade the fans to return to the stands. After the death of two police officers, she used tear gas.
Images filmed from the stadium show many spectators panicking, trying to escape, in particular by clinging to the barriers. Some of the victims died crushed, trampled or suffocated as they tried to leave the stadium, local police chief Nico Afinta said in a statement. According to him, 34 victims died on the spot, and the others in hospital.
“People immediately rushed out pushing each other and that caused a lot of casualties”, testifies Doni, a spectator interviewed by the APF. According to him, “There was nothing, no riots. I don’t know what happened, they suddenly fired tear gas”.