SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Around 90 people were injured and at least 12 have died after a stampede at a soccer stadium in El Salvador Saturday.
The director of the national police, Mauricio Arriaza Chicas, in El Salvador in a news conference Saturday evening said that investigators are working to figure out what led to the stampede, The New York Times reported. The stampede happened at Cuscatlán Stadium in San Salvador, El Salvador, during the second part of a quarterfinal between Alianza Fútbol Club and Club Deportivo FAS.
The stampede happened about 20 minutes into the match. Both teams were tied. Once fans were on the field, the game was reportedly suspended. El Salvador’s soccer federation released a statement on Twitter, according to the newspaper, saying that all games were canceled Sunday and they are looking into what happened.
Chicas said a large number of people were attending the game, the Times reported. This led to issues with the Wi-Fi in the stadium making it hard for people to retrieve their tickets and it possibly led to hundreds being stuck at the southern gate. Chicas said that people possibly forced their way in through that gate. This gate is usually where fans with “cheaper tickets” enter the stadium.
Salvadoran Health Minister Francisco Alabi on Twitter said that about 90 people are being treated for injuries they sustained and have been taken to the hospital, CNN reported. Men, women, and children have been treated for “multiple traumas.” Most are in stable condition.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele on Twitter, per Reuters, said the National Civil Police and the Attorney General’s Office will be conducting an investigation. He said that “teams, managers, stadium, ticket office, league, federation, etc,” will all be investigated.
Cuscatlán Stadium is in El Salvador’s capital and is one of the biggest stadiums in Central America that can hold up to 44,000 fans, according to Reuters.
Last October, 135 spectators were killed at a stadium in Indonesia’s East Java, according to Reuters. Others were crushed as they tried to flee and some were reportedly tear-gassed by police.