On Monday, Arema players and activists laid wreaths in front of the stadium.
“We came here as a team, asking for forgiveness from the families affected by this tragedy, those who have lost loved ones or those who are still being treated in hospital,” said head coach Javier Roca.
On Monday evening, a few thousand soccer fans wearing black T-shirts held a candlelight vigil on the soccer stadium in Bekasi, a satellite city of Jakarta, to wish for the victims of the disaster.
Witnesses say a few of Arema’s 42,000 fans ran onto the pitch in anger on Saturday after the team lost 3-2, its first home defeat against Persebaya in 23 years. Some threw bottles and other objects at players and football officials. At least five police vehicles were overturned and set on fire outside the stadium.
However, many of the deaths occurred when police, attempting to stop the violence, fired tear gas, including into the stands, causing a catastrophic stampede of fans who fled for the exits in panic and chaos. Most of the 125 individuals who died were trampled or suffocated. The victims included two cops.
The Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection said many children were among the many dead, with seven of them in hospitals. Police reported that 323 people were injured in consequence of the collision, and the condition of a few of them continues to be critical.
National police spokesman Dedy Prasetyo said Malang police chief Ferli Hidayat had been removed together with nine members of the elite mobile police squad and faced dismissal in a police ethics trial.
He said 18 officers liable for firing tear gas, starting from mid-level to high-ranking, were being investigated.
Police are interviewing witnesses and analyzing video footage from 32 security cameras inside and outdoors the stadium and nine cellphones belonging to the victims as a part of an investigation that also goals to discover suspected vandals, he said.
The parents and other relatives of 22-year-old Faiqotul Hikmah cried on Monday when an ambulance arrived at their home along with her body wrapped in white cloth and a black blanket. She died while fleeing to exit 12 at Kanjuruhan Stadium.
About a dozen friends took her to the match, but Hikmah was one among only 4 who managed to enter the stadium because tickets were sold out, her friend Abdul Mukid said on Monday. He later bought a ticket from a broker after hearing in regards to the chaos on the stadium to search for Hikman.
“I have to find her, save her,” Mukid recalled considering.
Mukid found Hikmah’s body lying in a constructing contained in the stadium, with broken ribs and bluish bruises on her face. He learned that a second friend had also died from other friends who called him while he was within the ambulance that was transporting Hikmah’s body to the hospital.
“I can’t put into words how much I hurt over the loss of my sister,” said Nur Laila, Hikmah’s older sister. “She was a huge Arema fan who wanted to watch her favorite team play. She shouldn’t die just for this reason, she said, wiping away tears.
President Joko Widodo has ordered the suspension of the top soccer league until security is reassessed and security is tightened. The Indonesian Football Association also banned Arema from hosting football matches for the rest of the season.
Arema FC president Gilang Widya Pramana expressed his sadness and deepest apologies to the victims and the Indonesian people, and stated that he was ready to take full responsibility for the tragedy that occurred at his team’s stadium.
He said the management, coach and players were shocked and speechless.
“I am ready to provide assistance even if it cannot bring the victims back to life,” Pramana said at a press conference on Monday at Arema’s headquarters in Malang.
“This incident was unforeseeable, beyond reason… during a match that was watched only by our fans and never a single opposing fan,” he said, sobbing. “How can this match kill more than 100 people?”
He said Arema FC is willing to just accept any sanctions imposed by the Indonesian Football Association and the federal government and “hopefully it should be a really priceless lesson.”
Security Minister Mohammad Mahfud said he would lead an inquiry to look at legal violations in reference to the disaster and make recommendations to the president to enhance soccer safety. The investigation is anticipated to finish in three weeks.
Mahfoud instructed the national police and military commanders to punish those that committed crimes and actions that caused panic.
The tragedy on the stadium, which killed at the least 125 people, exposes Indonesia’s turbulent history
The tragedy on the stadium, which killed at the least 125 people, exposes Indonesia’s turbulent history
“The government has called on the national police to assess its security procedures,” Mahfud told a news conference.
Rights group Amnesty International has called on Indonesia to analyze the usage of tear gas and ensure those responsible are tried in open court. Although FIFA has no control over domestic competitions, it advises against using tear gas in soccer stadiums.
Despite Indonesia’s lack of international prominence in sports, hooliganism is common within the soccer-obsessed country, where fanaticism often ends in violence. Figures from Indonesian soccer watchdog Save Our Soccer showed that 78 people have died in match-related accidents over the past 28 years.
Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
