Nine dead in El Salvador stadium following stampede at soccer match

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FOOTBALL Nine dead in El Salvador stadium following stampede at soccer match

Mark Kinyanjui 14:00 - 21.05.2023

Officials have said at least 12 people have died after a crush at a football stadium in El Salvador's capital, San Salvador, on Saturday night.

Nine people were killed Saturday in a stampede at El Salvador stadium where soccer fans had gathered to watch a local tournament.

According to the police, the mass stampede led to multiple casualties, with the fatalities at the time of writing amounting to nine.

"The number of deaths after the stampede at the Cuscatlan Stadium amounts to nine," the National Civil Police posted on Twitter.

The security agency also noted that "several" injured people, including at least two in critical condition, were being taken to nearby hospitals.

The law enforcers also said initial reports point to a crowd of fans who tried to enter the stadium in the Central American country's capital San Salvador to watch a match between Alianza and FAS are the ones who forced the stampede.

El Salvador's Interior Minister Juan Carlos Bidegain said the civil protection service's first responders were on the scene and attending to people impacted by the incident.

The match was suspended as emergency personnel evacuated people from the stadium, where hundreds of police officers and soldiers gathered as ambulance sirens wailed.

Health Minister Francisco Alabi said the country's hospital network was "providing medical care to all patients" in the aftermath of the stampede.

The tragedy comes seven months after 135 people including more than 40 children died in a stampede following a football match in Malang, Indonesia.