El Salvador’s government has said at least 12 people are dead and about 90 others are injured after a crush of fans at the Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday night.
The incident took place during the second leg of a playoff quarterfinal between Alianza FC and Club Deportivo FAS in San Salvador, the country’s capital.
Several reports stated that fans attempted to enter the stadium after the gates had been closed, which caused a crush of people. The game was stopped 16 minutes into the first half when it became clear there was a major problem in the stands.
“It was an avalanche of fans who overran the gate,” a volunteer with the Rescue Commandos first aid group told journalists, per the BBC. “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.”
El Salvador’s president Nayib Bukele said the national police and attorney general would conduct a “thorough investigation” into the incident.
“Everyone will be investigated: teams, managers, stadium, box office, league, federation, etc. Whoever the culprits are, they will not go unpunished,” Bukele said on Twitter.
At a news conference on Saturday night, the director of El Salvador’s national police said that the stadium’s Wi-Fi may have malfunctioned, leading to fans with valid tickets being denied entry when their QR codes would not scan.
On Sunday, the AP seemed to bolster that theory through interviews with witnesses on the ground:
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.
“I extend my deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims who lost their lives after the tragic incidents that have taken place in El Salvador during the match between Alianza FC and Club Deportivo FAS,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“Together with FIFA and the global football community, all our thoughts and prayers are with those who have been affected, as well as with the people of the Republic of El Salvador, the CONCACAF Confederation, the Salvadoran Football Association, and the Primera División de Fútbol de El Salvador, at this difficult time.”