At least a dozen people died in the El Salvador football stadium crash | Football news

The police said that according to preliminary information, the crush of fans who tried to enter the stadium to watch the match in the capital.

At least 12 people have died in an apparent crush at an El Salvador stadium where soccer fans had gathered to watch a local tournament, police and government officials said.

“Preliminarily, we have a negative result for 12 victims, nine of which are here in the stadium and the other three that we have been informed of are in different hospital centers,” Mauricio Arriaza, head of the National Civil Police (PNC), told reporters on Sunday.

Salvadoran football is in mourning, Arriaza said.

According to police, preliminary information points to fans trying to enter the stadium in the Central American country’s capital, San Salvador, to watch a match between FC Alianza and Club Deportivo FAS.

There were only two gates open in the entire stadium, one fan told La Prensa Grafica. Outsiders wanted to push in, and they all fell on us.

Another fan, Sandra Argueta, said children and the elderly were suffering and the gate had to be kicked down to get air because there were so many people and we were suffocating.

El Salvador’s Interior Minister Juan Carlos Bidegain said first responders from the rescue service were on the scene taking care of the people affected by the incident.

The match was suspended as emergency personnel evacuated people from the stadium, where hundreds of police and soldiers gathered as ambulance sirens blared.

Football is in mourning pic.twitter.com/uFEPoYvNJx

11deportivofc (@11deportivofc) May 21, 2023

The Salvadoran Football Federation announced in a statement on Twitter that it deeply regrets the events that took place at the Cuscatlan stadium.

It also expresses solidarity with the families of those affected and those killed in this incident, the tweet said, adding that the organization is seeking an immediate report on the incident.

Health Minister Francisco Alabi said the country’s hospital network is providing medical care to all patients in the storm’s aftermath.

The tragedy occurred seven months after 135 people, including more than 40 children, died as a result of a soccer match in Malang, Indonesia.