“We can confirm nine dead, seven men and two women,” said Carlos Fuentes, spokesman for first aid group Rescue Commandos, and we have helped more than 500 people while over 100 have been transported to hospitals. The game between Alianza and FAS was stopped 16 minutes after kick-off when fans in the stands began to panic and carried the injured onto the pitch.
Pedro Hernández, president of the country’s top football league, told preliminary information that the rush happened because many fans stormed a gate over it and poured into the tunnels leading to the stands. “It was an avalanche of fans climbing over the goal. Some were in the tunnel, others managed to get to the stands and then onto the pitch and were suffocated,” explained one rescuer.
National Civil Police Commissioner Mauricio Arriza Chicas, who rushed to the scene of the tragedy, said a criminal investigation was being launched in cooperation with the Attorney General’s Office. “We will investigate ticket sales and the situation at the stadium entrances, particularly in the southern area,” where the gate appears to have been broken open by fans.