Police said initial reports indicate a rush of fans trying to enter the stadium to watch a game in the capital.
At least 12 people have been killed in an apparent crush at a stadium in El Salvador where football fans had gathered to watch a local tournament, police and government officials said.
“Preliminarily we have a negative result of 12 victims, nine of whom are here at the stadium and three others that we have learned are in different hospital centers,” said Mauricio Arriaza, director of the National Civil Police (PNC), on Sunday to reporters.
“Salvadorian football is in mourning,” said Arriaza.
Police said initial reports indicated a rush of fans trying to enter the stadium in the capital of the Central American country, San Salvador, to watch a match between FC Alianza and Club Deportivo FAS.
“Only two gates were open in the entire stadium,” a fan told La Prensa Grafica. “People outside tried to force their way in and all jumped on us.”
Another supporter, Sandra Argueta, said children and the elderly were affected and the gate had to be knocked down “to get some air because there were a lot of people and we were suffocating”.
El Salvador’s Interior Minister Juan Carlos Bidegain said first responders from the Civil Protection Service had been on the scene taking care of those affected by the incident.
The game was suspended as rescue workers evacuated people from the stadium, where hundreds of police and soldiers gathered as ambulance sirens wailed.
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The FIFA chief on Sunday offered his condolences after a “tragic” stampede at a stadium in El Salvador where football fans had gathered to watch a local tournament killed 12 people.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives following the tragic events in El Salvador,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
In a statement on Twitter, the Salvadoran Football Federation said it “deeply regrets” the events at Cuscatlan Stadium.
“It also expresses our solidarity with the families of those affected and deceased in this incident,” the tweet said, adding that the organization will promptly request a report of the incident.
Health Minister Francisco Alabi said the country’s hospital network “provided medical care to all patients” after the stampede.
The tragedy came seven months after 135 people, including more than 40 children, died in a stampede following a soccer match in Malang, Indonesia.