Historic soccer tragedy: 125 killed during match in Indonesia

The numbers are absolutely staggering: 125 killed (including 17 children) and 300 injured, all during a soccer game.

This tragedy occurred in Malang, Java, in Indonesia, following a soccer match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya on October 1.

The drama in Indonesia has been the biggest in football in the past 50 years. It has only been surpassed by the 384 killed in the 1964 match between Peru and Argentina in Lima.

According to local police, fans of Arema FC and rival Persebaya Surabaya, two of Indonesia’s most prominent soccer teams, clashed in the stands after the home team, Arema FC, lost 3-2 at a match in the city of Malang in East Java.

When Persebaya Surabaya's 2-3 victory over Arema FC was confirmed on Saturday evening, October 1, more than 3,000 furious Arema fans decided to storm the field. Some even attacked their own players.

Videos circulating on social media show players and referees quickly fleeing the field to escape the attack from the fans.

The stampede on the football field led to a massive brawl in which the police had to intervene with tear gas.

This was followed by a chaotic rush towards the exits of the stadium in which many people lost their lives. Malang's local media reported directly on the deadly chaos.

The Chief Inspector General of the East Java Police, Nico Afinta, reported that the tear gas was fired as a "preventive and distracting" measure.

However, the field was already full of people when the tear gas was fired, so prevention of the fight was already out of the question.

According to CNN, Police Chief Nico Afinta confirmed that most of the deaths were caused by mass flight from the pitch, as dozens of fans were trampled by the thousands of people trying to get out of the stadium.

Mahfud MD, Indonesia's coordinating minister for security, confirmed on Instagram that most of the deaths were due to "pushing, squeezing, trampling, and suffocation" as fans rushed to the exits.

The numbers of dead and injured have been confirmed by Indonesia's National Police Chief, Nico Afinita.

The Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) says it regrets "the actions of the fans" and that the events in Malang will be investigated. The association also reports that the drama had "stained the reputation of Indonesian football."

At the moment, the top division of Indonesia has been suspended for a week and Arema FC will not be able to play at home for the rest of the season, the PSSI said in a press release.

CNN reported that investigators are trying to discover whether the stadium had indeed exceeded its capacity of 38,000 people by letting in more than 42,000 fans, as Minister Mahfud MD suggests.

Other matters that the union will investigate include the police action in the minutes before and after the storming of the field, as well as the eviction protocol that would have prevented access to medical care in the first place.

The drama is all the more painful as FIFA's safety regulations explicitly prohibit "the use of gas for crowd control". International organizations such as Amnesty International have also condemned the use of tear gas at soccer matches.

Indonesia is expected to host next year’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup and is also staging a bid for the 2023 Asian Cup, and this incident has caused unwanted global scrutiny on the country.

Indonesia's president, Joko Widodo, expressed his condolences and announced at a press conference that he would initiate "a comprehensive review of football match security procedures".