125 fans die in football crush

AT least 125 fans died after a crush at an overcrowded Indonesian football stadium in one of sport’s worst ever disasters.

Many victims were trampled to death in a stampede while hundreds more were injured after police fired tear gas at the 42,000-capacity stadium in Malang, East Java. Violence had flared at the end of Saturday’s match after Arema FC lost 3-2 to rivals Persebaya Surabaya.

Thousands of Arema supporters invaded the pitch and threw missiles. Witnesses said police reacted by firing tear gas ‘continuously and fast’. Many surged towards the exits where they suffocated or were trampled. The violence also spread outside. One fan said: ‘The stadium turned into a smoke-filled battleground.’