Fans enter the field after the Arema vs Persebaya football match at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, East Java province, Indonesia, October 2, 2022. REUTERS / Stringer
Indonesian investigators are still assessing the events that culminated in one of the deadliest disasters in football history.
A pitch invasion and a stampede prompted by police to fire tear gas in a crowded Indonesian stadium on Saturday left at least 131 people died, including 32 children.
Using interviews with officials, eyewitness accounts and verified photos and footage from the night, AFP pieced together how the tragedy unfolded in just 10 chaotic minutes after the match ended. at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang City.
9:47pm: Gate is closed
After the match started at 8pm local time, the match was peaceful throughout the first and second half with the stadium filled to capacity with about 42,000 Arema FC fans at home.
The game ends at 9:57 p.m., according to image metadata. But 10 minutes before it ends, some The exit door is still closed in reverse to practice is set. According to Indonesian football association spokesman Ahmad Riyadh, this is due to “late orders” and because the officers “have not arrived yet”.
Several eyewitness accounts and photographs support this version of events. But the police objected to this and said the exits were open.
After the final whistle, the situation began to clear up.
10:17 pm: Lawn Invasion
The players rested on the field after the loss while the results sank, according to video metadata. They then crossed the field from the west stand to greet the fans waiting in the east stand at 10:17 p.m., photos and video metadata showed.
Two fans entered the field to meet the players. One appeared to confront them but was later seen hugging a member of the team, according to the photos. Several fans can be seen in the video raising their middle fingers to the player from the terrace.
Then a third fan ran onto the pitch, attracting the attention of managers who tried to stop him, video and photos show.
A fourth spectator also entered the courtyard, according to footage, where security officers could be seen pointing at him but it was too late to arrest him.
Dozens of other fans entered the field, photos and video showed. Many managers tried to stop them, asking them to return to the stands.
10:19 pm: Riot police enter
This October 1, 2022 photo shows Arema FC supporters running on the field towards members of the Indonesian military after the soccer match between Arema FC and Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java. (Photo: AFP)
At 10:18 p.m., the managers began moving the players back to the locker room as fans continued to enter the field, according to the footage.
At 10:19 p.m., footage showed the first flare being thrown from the west stand, landing near where the players were escorted out. Dozens of fans have now flooded the field.
Another flare was later thrown from the same stand, according to the same shot.
The first riot police – armed with shields and batons – were then deployed from the north side of the stadium, the video showed.
At 10:20 p.m., fans backed away from the east stand as officers ran into them, some hitting supporters with sticks, according to photos and video footage. Items were thrown at officers from the crowd.
At 10:22 p.m., clashes began between police and fans on the field, footage shows. Some fans can be heard asking their friends to return to the stands.
Footage shows officers moving towards the north stand to hit back at supporters as the situation spiraled out of control.
10:25 p.m.: Tear the air out, start crushing
A riot policeman fires tear gas during a riot following the BRI Liga 1 soccer match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang, East Java province, Indonesia, October 2, 2022, in this photo This was taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto / Ari Bowo Sucipto / via REUTERS
According to the footage, at around 10:25 p.m., police first fired tear gas at the east and west stands. Supporters responded by throwing items at officers and some took to the field to do so.
At 10:26 p.m., more officers fired tear gas, the video showed.
According to the image, many supporters ran to nearby locked gates to try to save themselves from the smoke, which witnesses said left people suffocating and breathing.
According to survivors, as they fled, many were trampled or suffocated because some gates were closed and some were open but were too small for many people to pass through.
Survivors said dozens of people died at Gate 13, where the west and south intersect, in a state of heartbreak. Authorities have not confirmed how many people died there.
Photographers and video reporters then stopped filming to help the victim while police were on duty, several witnesses told AFP.
Images taken minutes later showed several officers disappearing from the field as supporters tried to run away from tear gas.
Police have stated that around 3,000 spectators eventually entered the field.
Photos show fans carrying victims into ambulances on the field or outside the stadium.
Within minutes, dozens of people were dead, with many others later taken to hospital, as Indonesia faces a moment of reckoning with crowd safety at sporting events.
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