Shocking! Exit gates were closed during deadly stadium stampede, says Indonesia football association

Locked exit gates and the delay in opening them for panicked supporters contributed to the deadly stampede inside Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, the Indonesian football association said on Monday. At least 131 people lost their lives while more than 300 supporters sustained injuriesin one of the worst football tragedies of recent times.

Erwin Tobing, the chief of the Indonesian football association's discipline commission admitted all exit gates should have been open but some of them were closed. "The doors should have been open, but were closed,"said Tobing.

The Kanjuruhan Stadium was packed with the supporters of Arema FC for their game against bitter rivals Persebaya Surabaya. Surabaya fans had already been banned from attending the game owing to the possibility of violence. However, the game took a deadly turn after the full-time whistle as hundreds of angry Arema supporters stormed onto the pitch.

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It resulted in chaos as some fans reportedly also clashed with the police officers present inside the stadium. The police fired tear gas shots to control the crowd, triggering a massive stampede as fans tried to flee the stadiums through narrow exit gates, some of which had still not been opened.

Also Read:Indonesia football association bans two Arema FC officials for life after stadium stampede

The Indonesian football association said all exit gates at the stadium should have been opened at least ten minutes before the end of the match, however, due to the lack of workers, only a few people were employed to open the gates and some had not even reached the doors at the time the stampede took place.

"Because of a lack of workers, only a few people were ordered to open the gates, and they had not yet reached some doors when spectators began rushing to escape tear gas fired by police in an attempt to control fans who had entered the field," Ahmad Riyadh, the spokesperson of Indonesian football association said.

Also Read:Indonesia stadium stampede death toll rises to 131 as six more succumb to injuries

The Indonesian football association has suspended Arema FC's chief executive and security coordinator for life over the tragic incident. However, the Indonesian police have maintained the exit gates at the stadium were too narrow and capable of accommodating not more than two people at a time, while hundreds were trying to get out.