Indonesia's president says locked gates led to stadium deaths and orders investigation

Joko Widodo ordered his government to cover costs of the best medical treatment available for the injured

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo visiting a survivor at a hospital in Malang, East Java, after a stampede that killed at least 131 people in one of the deadliest disasters in football history. AFP

Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo has ordered a full audit of stadiums but said that locked gates had contributed to the crush over the weekend that left 131 dead and 400 injured when police fired tear gas, causing panic at the end of a local league match in East Java.

Mr Widodo made the statement after touring the Kanjuruhan soccer stadium in Malang city for a first-hand look at the scene of one of the world’s deadliest sporting disasters.

“I want to know the root of the problem that caused this tragedy so that we can find the best solution,” Mr Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, said on Wednesday. “I will order the public works minister to audit all stadiums used for the [football] league.”

Indonesia's chief security minister said a task force had been created and that the investigation would take two to three weeks.

The president also visited the victims recovering at Saiful Anwar General Hospital and pledged a thorough investigation into what had transpired on Saturday night.

He instructed his government to cover the cost of the best medical treatment available for the injured and said that families of the dead would be given 50 million rupiahs ($3,300).

Several institutions and the East Java provincial administration will give an additional compensation of between 10 million and 15 million rupiahs ($650 and $1,000) to each of the victims’ families.

Police continued to insist that the gates at the Kanjuruhan stadium were open but were too narrow and could only accommodate two people at a time when hundreds were trying to escape.

Indonesia’s national football association said that because of a lack of workers, only a few people were ordered to open the gates and they had not yet reached some doors when spectators began rushing to escape tear gas fired by police in an attempt to control fans who had run on to the pitch.

Police acted after some of the 42,000 Arema FC fans ran on to the field in anger after their team was defeated 3-2, its first loss at home against visiting Persebaya Surabaya in 23 years.

“As an illustration, I saw the problem was there are locked doors, steep stairs and panic,” Mr Widodo said. “But all of this will be concluded later by an inquiry team.”

Mr Widodo said that he spoke by phone with Fifa President Gianni Infantino on Monday to brief him on the investigation. They also discussed Indonesia’s preparations in hosting the 2023 Fifa Under-20 World Cup.

Arema football club supporters light candles as they pray for the victims in Malang, Indonesia. Getty Images

Police officers move a damaged vehicle out of the Kanjuruhan stadium. Reuters

A police officer inspects a police car wrecked in football riots. AP Photo

Women weep after receiving confirmation that their family member is among those killed in the riots, at a hospital in Malang, East Java. AP Photo

A damaged car is pictured following a riot after the league BRI Liga 1 football match between Arema vs Persebaya at Kanjuruhan Stadium, Malang, East Java. Reuters

Indonesian army and police attempt to secure the pitch after a football match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java. At least 129 people died at the stadium when fans invaded the pitch and police responded with tear gas, triggering a stampede, officials said. AFP

The Indonesian army on the pitch after a football match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya at Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java. AFP

Police officers arrest a fan on the pitch during a clash between fans at Kanjuruhan Stadium. EPA

Police officers run as they try to stop fans from entering the pitch during a clash between fans at Kanjuruhan Stadium. EPA

Security personnel on the pitch at Kanjuruhan Stadium as chaos ensues in the stands. AFP

A group of people carry a man at Kanjuruhan Stadium during a stampede which killed 129 people. AFP

Football fans enter the pitch during a clash between supporters at Kanjuruhan Stadium. Clashes between supporters of the two teams killed 129 fans and a number of police officers, mostly trampled to death, police said Sunday. AP

Kanjuruhan Stadium after the stampede and riots which killed 129 people, according to local police. EPA

Damaged police vehicles lay on the pitch inside Kanjuruhan Stadium. EPA

Motorists ride past the wreckage of a car burned outside Kanjuruhan Stadium. AP

People walk past a torched police truck outside Kanjuruhan Stadium. EPA

A woman walks past a damaged police vehicle inside Kanjuruhan Stadium. EPA

Plain-clothed police officers stand near the wreckage of police vehicles damaged inside Kanjuruhan Stadium. AP

Police officers and soldiers stand amid tear gas smoke after the match at Kanjuruhan Stadium. AP

A torched car outside Kanjuruhan Stadium. AFP

Mr Widodo said that Mr Infantino ensured him that “Fifa is ready to help us to improve our football management.

“I think we really need a total evaluation of our entire football management of the matches, stadiums, spectators, time and security,” he said. “So that this stadium disaster will never occur again.”

According to recommendations by Fifa and the Asian Football Confederation, exits at stadiums, for safety purposes, must be unlocked at all times during a game. Those rules do not necessarily apply to domestic or national leagues but nevertheless are a safety standard, as is the recommendation against the use of tear gas as a crowd-control measure.

The deaths at the stadium included 17 children while 440 people were injured. At least 61 were still in hospital as of Wednesday, 29 of them in critical condition.

The Football Association of Indonesia has banned Arema from hosting any matches attended by its supporters in Malang until next year. The club’s chief executive, Abdul Harris, and the security co-ordinator, Suko Sutrisno, have been banned from participating in football for life because they had not secured the field and delayed the opening of the gates.

An Indonesian police chief and nine elite officers were removed from their posts on Monday and 18 others were being investigated for responsibility in the firing of tear gas.