MALANG: At least 32 children died in Indonesia’s stadium crush, an official said Monday (Oct 3), as police moved to punish those responsible for one of the deadliest disasters in football history.
The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang saw a total of 125 people killed and 323 others injured after officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium to quell a pitch invasion, triggering a stampede.
Dozens of children caught in the chaos lost their lives, an official at the women’s empowerment and child protection ministry told AFP.
“From the latest data we received, out of 125 people who died in the accident, 32 of them were children, with the youngest being a toddler age three or four,” said Nahar, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.
As anger mounted against police, Indonesia’s chief security minister Mahfud M D announced a task force had been formed to investigate and called for punishment for anyone found responsible.
“We asked (police) to unveil who has perpetrated the crimes and take action against them and we also hope the national police will evaluate their security procedures,” he said in a broadcast statement.
The police force sacked its local chief in Malang within hours of the minister’s speech.
East Java police also suspended nine officers on the instruction of the national police force, national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told a press conference, without providing details about their role in the tragedy.
With police and sports officials on their way to Malang to investigate, Indonesia’s National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) levelled criticism at officers.
“If there was no tear gas, maybe there wouldn’t have been chaos,” commissioner Choirul Anam told a briefing.