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Hundreds killed, hurt in stampede at Indonesia football match

Published

3 years ago

2022/10/3

Police fire tear gas after fans invade pitch in East Java, triggering a stampede that killed at least 174 people and injured 100 more

(Al Jazeera) At least 174 people have been killed and dozens more injured in a riot and a stampede at an Indonesian football stadium.The tragedy on Saturday night in the eastern city of Malang was one of the world’s deadliest sporting stadium disasters.Police in East Java province said thousands of fans of Arema FC stormed the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium after their team lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya. Officers tried to control the “riots” by firing tear gas, triggering a stampede as panicked fans rushed to an exit gate.

Some suffocated in the chaos while others were trampled to death. At least 34 people, including two police officers, died at the stadium.East Java’s Vice Governor Emil Dardak told Kompas TV in an interview on Sunday afternoon that the death toll has climbed to 174, while more than 100 injured people were receiving intensive treatment in eight hospitals. Eleven of them were in critical condition, he said.

“At 9:30am (0230 GMT) the death toll was 158, at 10:30am the figure rose to 174 deaths,” Dardak said.A hospital director told local television that one of the victims was five years old.Video footage from local news channels showed fans streaming onto the pitch in the Kanjurujan Stadium in Malang after Arema FC lost to Persebaya Surabaya. Scuffles can be seen, with what appeared to be tear gas in the air. Images also showed people who appeared to have lost consciousness being carried away by other fans.

The stadium holds 42,000 people and authorities said it was a sell-out. Police said about 3,000 people had stormed the pitch. Vehicles outside the stadium were also torched, including at least five police cars and trucks.Survivors described panicking spectators in a packed crowd as tear gas rained down on them.

“Officers fired tear gas, and automatically people were rushing to come out, pushing each other and it caused many victims,” a 43-year-old spectator told the AFP news agency. “Nothing was happening, there was no riot. I don’t know what the issue was, they suddenly fired tear gas. That’s what shocked me, didn’t they think about kids, women?”

President Joko Widodo ordered an investigation into the tragedy, a safety review into all football matches and directed the country’s football association to suspend all matches until “security improvements” were completed.

“I deeply regret this tragedy and I hope this football tragedy will be the last in our country,” Widodo said.

Meanwhile, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the the football world was “in a state of shock”.

“All our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, those who have been injured, together with the people of the Republic of Indonesia,” he added.

Fan violence is an enduring problem in Indonesia, with a strong rivalry between clubs sometimes leading to violence among supporters. Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya are longtime rivals and the latter’s fans were not allowed to buy tickets for Saturday’s game due to fears of violence.

Indonesia’s coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs, Mahfud MD, said organisers had ignored authorities’ recommendation to hold the match in the afternoon instead of the evening. He also said the government had recommended only 38,000 tickets be printed, but there was instead a sell-out crowd of 42,000. “The government has made improvements to the implementation of football matches… and will continue to improve. But this sport, which is a favourite of the wider community, often provokes supporters to express emotions suddenly,” he said in an Instagram post.

World soccer’s governing body FIFA specifies in its safety regulations that no firearms or “crowd control gas” should be carried or used by stewards or police. East Java police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether they were aware of such regulations.Referring to the FIFA rules, Amnesty International criticised the use of tear gas in the stadium and urged authorities to “conduct a swift, thorough, and independent investigation” and “ensure that those who are found to have committed violations are tried in open court and do not merely receive internal or administrative sanctions”.

“This loss of life cannot go unanswered,” said Usman Hamid, the executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.

The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) said it would send its own investigation team to Malang to establish the cause of the crush. It also banned Arema FC from hosting home games for the rest of the season.

“We’re sorry and apologise to families of the victims and all parties over the incident,” PSSI Chairman Mochamad Iriawan said.

The tragedy comes as Indonesia is scheduled to host the FIFA U-20 World Cup in May and June next year. They are also one of three countries bidding to stage next year’s Asian Cup, the continent’s equivalent of the Euros, after China pulled out as host.Al Jazeera’s Jessica Washington, reporting from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, said Saturday’s disaster was “historic”.

“Violence and riots are a common occurrence at football matches in Indonesia, but we have never seen something like this before,” she said.

“This is a historic tragedy, not only for football in Indonesia but football internationally. This is one of the biggest tragedies the sport has seen, in terms of fan violence, in terms of deaths of fans at a match,” she added.

Other stadium disasters include a 1964 crush at a Peru-Argentina Olympic qualifier at Lima’s National Stadium that killed some 320 people, and the 2012 Port Said stadium tragedy in Egypt where 74 people died in clashes.In 1989, some 96 Liverpool supporters were crushed to death in the United Kingdom, when an overcrowded and fenced-in enclosure collapsed at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.

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Environmentalists warn Sri Lanka’s ecological safeguards are failing

Published

11 mins ago

2025/12/28

Thilina Walpola

Sri Lanka’s environmental protection framework is rapidly eroding, with weak law enforcement, politically driven development and the routine sidelining of environmental safeguards pushing the country towards an ecological crisis, leading environmentalists have warned.

Dilena Pathragoda, Managing Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), has said the growing environmental damage across the island is not the result of regulatory gaps, but of persistent failure to enforce existing laws.

“Sri Lanka does not suffer from a lack of environmental regulations — it suffers from a lack of political will to enforce them,” Pathragoda told The Sunday Island. “Environmental destruction is taking place openly, often with official knowledge, and almost always without accountability.”

Dr. Pathragoda has said environmental impact assessments are increasingly treated as procedural formalities rather than binding safeguards, allowing ecologically sensitive areas to be cleared or altered with minimal oversight.

“When environmental approvals are rushed, diluted or ignored altogether, the consequences are predictable — habitat loss, biodiversity decline and escalating conflict between humans and nature,” Pathragoda said.

Environmental activist Janaka Withanage warned that unregulated development and land-use changes are dismantling natural ecosystems that have sustained rural communities for generations.

“We are destroying natural buffers that protect people from floods, droughts and soil erosion,” Withanage said. “Once wetlands, forests and river catchments are damaged, the impacts are felt far beyond the project site.”

Withanage said communities are increasingly left vulnerable as environmental degradation accelerates, while those responsible rarely face legal consequences.

“What we see is selective enforcement,” he said. “Small-scale offenders are targeted, while large-scale violations linked to powerful interests continue unchecked.”

Both environmentalists warned that climate variability is amplifying the damage caused by poor planning, placing additional strain on ecosystems already weakened by deforestation, sand mining and infrastructure expansion.

Pathragoda stressed that environmental protection must be treated as a national priority rather than a development obstacle.

“Environmental laws exist to protect people, livelihoods and the economy,” he said. “Ignoring them will only increase disaster risk and long-term economic losses.”

Withanage echoed the call for urgent reform, warning that continued neglect would result in irreversible damage.

“If this trajectory continues, future generations will inherit an island far more vulnerable and far less resilient,” he said.

Environmental groups say Sri Lanka’s standing as a biodiversity hotspot — and its resilience to climate-driven disasters — will ultimately depend on whether environmental governance is restored before critical thresholds are crossed.

By Ifham Nizam ✍️

News

IGP warns cops against presenting hampers or gifts to superiors

Published

12 mins ago

2025/12/28

Thilina Walpola

IGP Priyantha Weerasooriya has issued a letter, warning police officers against presenting gifts to senior officers during festivals or special occasions.

The letter, dated December 24, notes that some officers have reportedly offered hampers to senior officers during events such as the New Year and Sinhala and Hindu New Year, and some senior officers have accepted them.

The IGP has stressed that no officer should present hampers to him or any other senior police officer under any circumstances, and that senior officers must not accept such gifts.

Instead of in-person visits or physical gifts, officers have been instructed to convey their greetings through phone calls or WhatsApp messages, with personal visits deemed unnecessary.

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Ravi K urges slash of politicians’ perks to fund national relief and reconstruction

Published

13 mins ago

2025/12/28

Thilina Walpola

MP Ravi Karunanayake speaking to the media on Thursday

NDF MP Ravi Karunanayake has called for the savings from MPs’ insurance coverage and allowances to be redirected to a relief fund for the public.

Addressing a press conference in Colombo on Thursday, Karunanayake stressed that the coverage reserved for MPs should be withdrawn and the funds transferred to a welfare and disaster relief fund. He mphasised that money allocated for double-cab vehicles for politicians should also be diverted to the national reconstruction fund at this critical time.

Highlighting the country’s ongoing economic and crisis situation, Karunanayake said that public representatives and senior state institutions must make significant sacrifices, and the perks and insurance benefits of MPs should be used for the welfare of the people.

He underlined that the task of rebuilding the country must start with the politicians themselves.

Commenting on state institution inefficiencies, he stated:

“Bonuses and allowances paid to officials of loss-making institutions such as SriLankan Airlines must be immediately stopped. Those funds should be redirected for the welfare of ordinary citizens currently under severe hardship—this is the responsibility of the government.”

Regarding Sri Lanka’s current foreign currency reserves, Karunanayake pointed out that, relative to their expenditure, there is no mechanism in place to replenish them—a serious problem. He urged that export performance be increased rapidly. He also suggested that renewable energy be used instead of oil-based electricity generation to save foreign exchange.

Karunanayake further revealed that, given the country’s ongoing disaster conditions, sufficient foreign aid has not yet been received. He recalled that the sixth tranche of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) was due to be received in December and stated that obtaining relief in installments would be more beneficial to the country than seeking emergency loans.

On dealing with the IMF, he added:

“Even if the IMF comes through under Ranil Wickremesinghe, we must ensure we engage properly and clearly with them. We must stick to our terms and execute them without confusion or compromise.”