Angry fans crash through gate at El Salvador soccer match in stampede that kills 12, injures dozens
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — Fans angry at being blocked from entering a Salvadoran soccer league match despite having tickets knocked down a small access gate to the stadium, creating a crush that killed 12 people and injured dozens, officials and witnesses said Sunday.
Diego Armando, 14, said he went with this father to watch Saturday night’s quarterfinals match between clubs Alianza and Fas at Monumental Stadium in Cuscatlan in southern San Salvador, the nation’s capital.
He recalled being in the crowd when the tragedy struck. “There were so many people that the small gate couldn’t support them and it went down,” he told Channel 12 television.
“I fell and my body from my waist to my feet was crushed. Five people pulled me free and saved me by a miracle. Two people in front of me died. I spoke to one and he didn’t move,” the boy said.
His father, Hectór Rivas, said the crush occurred because there were only two small gates open and the rest were closed.
“People began to push and I couldn’t even breathe,” he said.
Play was suspended about 16 minutes into the match, when fans in the stands waving frantically began getting the attention of those on the field and carrying the injured out of a tunnel and down onto the field.
Local television transmitted live images of the aftermath of the stampede, which appeared to mainly involve Alianza fans.
wDozens made it onto the field where they received medical treatment. Fans who escaped the crush furiously waved their shirts attempting to review people lying on the grass barely moving.
“El Salvador is in mourning,” said a statement from the press office of Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele, which confirmed that at least 12 people were dead.
