The rush of people apparently started when the stadium gate collapsed.
12 people died and hundreds were injured in an accident at a football stadium in El Salvador on Saturday night local time.
Fans tried to rush into the 35,000-seat Cuscatlan stadium to watch a game between two local teams in San Salvador, El Salvador’s capital, according to official reports of a platform failure.
The match was suspended ten minutes after the start of the game as emergency personnel began to evacuate people from the chaotic stadium. Hundreds of police and soldiers were there. Even the players of the soccer teams participated in the rescue efforts.
The spokesman for the rescue team by Carlos Fuentes more than 500 people received treatment for their injuries, and rescue officials said 88 people were hospitalized.
According to Fuentes, the rush apparently started when the stadium gate fell. People then started to pack together to get into the stadium.
– There were five people on top of me who suffocated me, described the events in the stadium Freddy Alexander Ruiz28.
– Thank God I was able to grab the policeman by the leg, and he and my friend pulled me out.
President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele has announced that the authorities will investigate the incident and the culprits will be punished.
– Everything is being investigated: teams, managers, stadium, ticket sellers, league, federation, Bukele said on Twitter.
He warned that “whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished”.
El Salvador’s soccer association Fesfut deeply regretted the events at the stadium in a statement and offered its condolences to the families of the dead and the injured and their families.
The tragedy occurred just seven months after 135 people, including more than 40 children, died as a result of a soccer match in Malang, Java.
Source: AFP