12 people die in a soccer match in El Salvador

El Salvador’s government announced that at least 12 people were killed and an unspecified number injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium on Saturday.

The Allianz match against Club Deportivo FAS in the second leg of the quarter-finals in the domestic league, which was held at the Cuscatlan stadium in the capital, San Salvador, was stopped on Saturday evening, after a stampede occurred in a sector of the stadium.

Cuscatlán is one of the largest stadiums in Central America, with a capacity of more than 44,000 spectators.

The federation said on Twitter: “The Football Association of El Salvador expresses its deep regret over the events that took place at the Cuscatlan stadium. The federation also expresses its solidarity with the relatives of those affected and the deceased in the accident.”

The federation added that it would immediately request a report on the incident and decided to stop the competition after the incident, calling for a meeting with the security committee for sports stadiums today, Sunday.

El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele said the police and the public prosecutor’s office would conduct a “thorough investigation” into the events at the stadium.

Abu Kaila wrote on Twitter: “Everyone will be investigated: both teams, coaches, stadium, ticket box, league, federation, etc. Whoever is guilty will not escape punishment.”

The accident comes after 135 people were killed in a stampede at a soccer stadium in East Java, Indonesia, last October. Many were killed as they fled to the exits after police fired tear gas into crowds in the Asian country.