Stampede at the Cuscatlán Stadium in El Salvador left at least twelve people dead as confirmed by the club’s officials.
The said incident happened during a matchup with domestic teams Alianza and the Santa Ana-based team Fas at Cuscatlán Stadium.
The incident happened 16 minutes into the match. The match was however suspended following the stampede that left scores of people dead.
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador President, tagged the incident as “unprecedented”, and said an “exhaustive investigation” would be carried out immediately.
Police previously confirmed that seven men and two women were among the deceased with none of the victims less than 18 years.
The incident occurred as a large number of fans tried to enter the stadium venue after the gates were already closed.
The officials revealed that they have launched an investigation after it was discovered that some fans bought fake tickets.
A video shared by one local media showed several fans attempting to pull down barricades at the stadium’s entrance.
A live stream of the suspended match was posted on YouTube and it showed the commotion in the stands that led to the suspension.
The video also showed people being carried away by emergency services on stretchers.
Fans could also been seen in the footage waving their shirts at people on the ground to try and cool them down.
One volunteer with the Rescue Commandos first aid group in El Salvador told journalists that: “It was an avalanche of fans who overran the gate.”
“Some were still under the metal in the tunnel. Others managed to make it to the stands and then to the field and were smothered.”
President Bukele also assured that “everyone” will be investigated, including the teams involved, club managers, stadium officials, the league as well as the federation.
In a comment posted on Twitter by his press secretary, he added that: “Whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished.”
As per the incident, reports have it that 90 people are currently receiving medical attention and all involved are being treated for “multiple traumas”.
Civil Protection of El Salvador’s director Luis Alonso Amaya, has also revealed that 500 people had been given medical treatment, with several transferred to hospital.
Francisco Alabi, El Salvador health minister, confirmed that the majority of the injured are in stable conditions and there are no reports of deaths from hospitals.
Sunday matches were suspended at all national levels by the Salvadoran Soccer Federation following the incident.
The federation also said that it regretted what happened in the Cuscatlán Stadium and voiced support for the victims’ families.
El Salvador’s health minister, Francisco Alabi, shared on Twitter confirmed that the government had sent out ambulances from nearby hospitals to the stadium with the injured being sent to different centres for treatment.
Mr Alabi did, however, call for the public to carefully evacuate the area to make things very easy for the medical teams to do their job properly.
This tragic event comes seven months after 135 people, including more than 40 children, were killed in a stampede following a football match in Malang, Indonesia.
