125 killed in stampede as cops use tear gas at Indonesia stadium after football match

Astampede at a stadium in East Java province of Indonesia after a football match killed 125 peopleand left many injured besides loss of property. An official had earlier said thatat least 174 people were killed but the toll was later revised downwards to 125 as officials grappled to collect data of casualties and injuries from hospitals where the injured were rushed to.

Indonesia's police chief in East Java province had earlier said that at least 129people were killed and over 180 were injured when angry supporters of the losing team invaded the field at theKanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java, on Saturday. He added that the toll is likely to go up.

An official then told local media on Sunday that the toll had jumped to 174. "At 9:30 am (0230 GMT) the death toll was 158, at 10:30 am the figure rose to 174 deaths. That's the data collected by the East Java disaster mitigation agency," East Java deputy governor Emil Dardak told broadcaster Kompas TV.

Earlier,East Java police chief Nico Afinta said in a statement on Sunday: "In the incident, 129people died, two of whom are police officers. 34people died inside the stadium and the rest died in hospital."

Reports have mentioned that after Arema's 2-3 loss to bitter rivals Persebaya Surabaya in the match in Malang Regency, East Java, there was fighting amongthe fans of the two clubs.

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Wiyanto Wijoyo, the director of the Malang Regency health office, had initially reported that around 120 individuals were killed. He further noted that officials were still compiling the total number of injured people, suggesting that the toll might increase.

Wiyanto said, "More than 120 people died, they died of chaos, overcrowding, trampling and suffocation." The overall number of injured, he continued, was undoubtedly higher than one hundred, and they had been taken to several neighbourhood hospitals.

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Thousands of Arema supporters reportedly stormed the pitch after their team lost, which sparked fighting. Players from Persebaya left the field right away, while theArema players who remained there were also attacked.

Police fired tear gas, triggering a stampede that led to cases of suffocation, East Java police chief Nico Afinta told reporters.

"It gotanarchic. The crowd started attacking officersand damaged cars," he said, adding that two police officers were among the dead.

According to reports, several fatalities happened as a result of police using tear gas to disperse crowd triggering panic among fans at the Kanjuruhan Stadium.

The Indonesian government expressed regret for the disaster and pledged to look into the stampede's causes.

Indonesian sports and youth minister Zainudin Amali told broadcaster Kompas: "We're sorry for this incident... this is a regrettable incident that 'injures' our football at a time when supporters can watch football matches from the stadium."

Video footage from local news channels showed people rushing onto the pitch in the stadium in Malang and images of body bags.Videos on social media showed fans clambering over fences to escape and lifeless bodies lying on the floor.

There have been previous outbreaks of trouble at matches in Indonesia, with a strong rivalry between clubs sometimes leading to violence among supporters.

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