At least 12 persons are reported dead with hundreds injured following a stampede at a football stadium in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador.
The incident occurred on Saturday evening during a football game between clubs Alianza and the Santa Ana-based team Fas at Cuscatlán Stadium.
Fans, without tickets, were said to have forced their way into the stadium through one of the access gates to watch the quarterfinal match in the Clausura 2023 tournament, causing the deadly stampede.
The match was subsequently suspended.
Footage taken from inside the stadium and shared on social media showed men, women, and children being carried on stretchers and in arms to be assisted by the emergency services.
Multiple ambulances were also seen parked outside the stadium while medics rushed to the scene.
#BREAKING: Many casualties being reported following soccer stadium stampede in San Salvador, El Salvador. #BreakingNews https://t.co/IZD89WVbuJ
— Breaking 4 News (@Breaking_4_News) May 21, 2023
https://twitter.com/JinyoJr/status/1660219669851041793?t=4pXbROMAr-d9m77XzjFSdA&s=19
Aficionados señalan poca presencia de elementos de la @PNCSV en los accesos a sol, además se ordenó el cierre de puertas pese a que aún no habia ingresado afición que pago boleto. pic.twitter.com/y4zqiqGS4y
— Escenario (@escenariosv) May 21, 2023
BBC quoted the police as saying that seven men and two women were among the dead.
The Salvadoran Soccer Federation, in a statement, said it deeply regretted what had happened.
🚨🚨COMUNICADO 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/rLS2sjy4vO
— FESFUT (@fesfut_sv) May 21, 2023
“The Salvadoran Football Federation deeply regrets the events that occurred at the Cuscatlan Stadium. It also expresses solidarity with the relatives of those affected and deceased in this incident,” the statement reads.
Nayib Bukele, El Salvador president, also called for a thorough investigation to unravel circumstances that triggered the stampede.
“The National Civil Police and the Attorney General’s Office will carry out a thorough investigation of the events that occurred at the Cuscatlan,” he said.
“Everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, box office, league, federation, etc. Whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished.”
La @PNCSV y la @FGR_SV realizarán una investigación exhaustiva de los hechos ocurridos en el Estadio Cuscatlán.
Todos serán investigados: equipos, directivos, estadio, boletería, liga, federación, etc.
Sean quiénes sean los culpables, no quedarán en la impunidad.
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) May 21, 2023
The stampede came about eight months after more than 174 persons lost their lives in a similar incident in a stadium in Indonesia.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/Milton Flores)
Source: Top Stories