Twelve dead and more than a hundred injured in a stampede at a football stadium in El Salvador

El Salvador experienced its biggest sports tragedy on Saturday night with the death of 12 people as a result of the stampede at the Cuscatlán stadiumin San Salvador, and who left about 100 people injured.

The Salvadoran government secretary confirmed the death toll. The incidents occurred when fans tried to enter one of the popular areas of the stadium to watch the match between Alianza and Futbolistas Asociados Santanecos (FAS).

After learning the latest information about the deceased, mostly men, Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele assured on his Twitter that “a thorough investigation will be carried out”. “The police and the prosecutor’s office will conduct a thorough investigation of the events that took place at the Cuscatlán stadium. Everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, treasury, league, federation, etc.,” he announced and added that “whoever is guilty, they will not go unpunished.”

More than 500 expressions of attention and solidarity

Carlos Fuentes, spokesman for the Comandos de Salvamento, told reporters that around 100 people were taken to different hospitals, while attention for the affected in total about 500. The Salvadoran Football Federation (Fesfut) regrets the death in a statement and adds that it will “immediately request a report on what happened and communicate what is relevant as soon as possible.”

President of the National Institute of Sports (INDES) and brother of President Bukele, Yamil Bukele, expressed his solidarity with “all the families who lost a loved one today in this sad event”. “We have called an extraordinary meeting of the Board of Directors of INDES,” which sponsors the Salvadoran Major League tournament, he announced.

Salvadoran League teams expressed their condolences on their social networks. “Today the colors do not exist and for the sake of the sport we all passionately love, we hope it will not happen again,” announced FAS, the visiting team of the match that was finally abandoned.

Luis Ángel Firpo declared that “football is in mourning”. “We join the pain of the Alianza family,” while the Eagle posted: “We join the pain of the Alianza family, our deepest condolences.” Fesfut announced the suspension of the two matches scheduled for Sunday, which correspond to the second leg of the quarter-finals, and announced an urgent meeting with the Commission for the Safety of Sports Fields.

Sad. They report on the stampede at the Cuscatlán stadium in El Salvador

inform @CNNEE which brought the death toll to 12pic.twitter.com/4WCTorm86G

— Luis Omar Tapia (@LuisOmarTapia) May 21, 2023