Tragedy Rocks Football As Nine Die After Stadium Stampede

• The deceased were trying to watch a local match between Alianza and FAS, two of the most popular football teams in El Salvador.

• A stampede occurred after a large number of fans tried to enter the venue when the gates had been closed.

• The match was suspended after ten minutes.

Eko Hot Blog reports that at least nine people were killed and several more injured Saturday in a crush at a football stadium in the capital of El Salvador.

The country’s National Civil Police (PNC) made the disclosure on Twitter.

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“The first information points to a stampede of fans who tried to enter to watch the match between Alianza and FAS” at the Cuscatlán Stadium, the PNC said.

Police said seven men and two women were among the dead, with all the victims over the age of 18.

The crush occurred during a match between local team Alianza and Santa Ana-based team Fas at the Monumental stadium.

The match was subsequently suspended with around 10 minutes played.

Alianza and FAS are two of the most popular football teams in the Central American country

Salvadoran Health Minister Francisco Alabi said on Twitter that emergency teams had been deployed and the injured were being transferred to local hospitals.

The disaster reportedly occurred after a stampede began when a large number of fans tried to enter the venue after the gates had been closed.

The two sides had been facing off in a quarter-finals clash of the country’s premier division, and footage shared by local media appeared to show fans attempting to pull down barricades over teh stadium’s entrance.

“It was an avalanche of fans who overran the gate,” a volunteer with the Rescue Commandos first aid group told journalists. “Some were still under the metal in the tunnel. Others managed to make it to the stands and then to the field and were smothered.”

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The Twitter account for Press Secretary of the Presidency posted first responders were on the scene and two victims in critical condition had been transferred to the San Rafael hospital.

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