Some of the elite Indonesian police officers have come under serious fire and investigations on Tuesday over a stadium stampede which had led to the death of about 131 people which also includes dozens of children in one of the deadliest disasters which has ever occurred in football history.
It has also been revealed that as public anger grows, the police has moved to punish those who are responsible for the crush in the city of Malang that witnesses say started when officers fired some canisters of tear gas into packed stands to quell a pitch invasion.
Read Also: Disaster As 125 Perish In Indonesia Soccer Stadium Crush
“As the regional police chief, I am concerned, saddened and at the same time I am sorry for the shortcomings in the security process,” East Java police chief Nico Afinta told a press conference Tuesday.
The terraces of the Kanjuruhan stadium had been packed on Saturday evening with 42,000 “Aremania”, or Arema FC fans, for a match against their fierce rivals Persebaya Surabaya.
But after a 3-2 defeat, the first home loss for more than two decades to their adversaries some fans had streamed down to the pitch to confront players and management.
Police had also described the incident as a riot and had reported that up to two officers were killed, but survivors accused them of overreacting. The officers had responded to the pitch invasion with force, kicking and hitting fans with batons, according to witnesses and video footage, prompting more fans to enter the pitch.
“If there was a riot, (tear gas) should be fired to the pitch, not in the stand,” Danny Agung Prasetyo, coordinator of supporter group Arema DC, told AFP.
The death toll jumped again on Tuesday with local health official Wiyanto Wijoyo telling AFP six more victims had succumbed to their injuries.
Indonesian officials had revealed that 4,000 more tickets had been allocated for the match than should have been, while some of the stadium’s doors had appeared to have been shut, according to witnesses.
That left physically stronger supporters to scale large fences to escape the mayhem, while the most vulnerable were at the mercy of the crush as tear gas rained down.
“The doors were closed, that’s why people were pushing. Some lay down in the corner” by a closed gate to try to escape the crush, a 16-year-old survivor of the chaos told AFP.
The Malang police chief was replaced Monday, nine officers were suspended and 19 others were put under investigation over the disaster in the stadium, which was filled with only hometown Arema FC fans, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said.