129 dead after fans stampede to exit Indonesian soccer match. This was a regular occurrence in the Indonesian national team’s matches against Singapore or Cambodia in recent years, when supporters came out in large numbers for the full-time whistle. The Singapore supporters will have to make do at home. I suppose these incidents represent more evidence that Indonesian soccer is a bad idea for them.
The latest incident occurred early in the first half of Tuesday’s match. Fans had gathered in the streets surrounding the stadiums to watch the match, and even though the referee didn’t call off the game at the beginning of the second half, they did indeed go home in large groups. The Indonesian media reports that at least seven fans, ranging from 12 to 38 years old, were killed from falling over the embankments after stampedes through the streets. There were also reports that one fan died at his home.
The death toll was confirmed earlier by the police, who said that the fans were walking on the street when they were hit by the stampede.
According to the police, they believe it was the result of an incident at the stadium.
There were no arrests, and it’s still unconfirmed whether the stampede killed anyone. The police have launched an investigation into the stampede incident.
We’ll post more updates as new developments occur.
(Image via Twitter/Bilal)