The death toll rises after the tumult that arose in connection with Saturday’s meeting between Alianza and FAS in El Salvador. Twelve people have now been confirmed dead, and over a hundred are said to have been injured.
“The Salvadoran Football Federation deeply regrets the events that occurred at the Cuscatlán Stadium,” the country’s football governing body writes in a post on Twitter.
It was on Saturday that Alianza and FAS met at Estadio Cuscatlán in the capital San Salvador. However, the game had to be abandoned 16 minutes into the match after supporters tried to storm a gate in the arena.
– It was like an avalanche of fans trying to storm the gate. Some were still under the metal in the tunnel, others managed to get to the doctor and then the plane and suffocated, an unidentified volunteer helper told reporters at the scene.
Dozens of slightly injured people managed to get onto the football pitch at the same time, where they received treatment.
An investigation will be carried out
The country’s president, Nayib Bukele, states that the prosecutor’s office and the police will carry out a thorough investigation into the events at the stadium.
“Everyone will be investigated: the teams, the managers, the stadium, the box office, the league, the federation. Whoever is guilty, they will not go unpunished,” he writes on Twitter.
Estadio Cuscatlán is one of the largest stadiums in Central America, holding over 44,000 fans. Films published online at the same time testify to a dangerously large crowd at one of the entrances.
Officials also state that they will investigate whether fake tickets were sold, reports The Guardian.