Just after the match between Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya had finished at Kanjuruhan stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, on Saturday night, a group of three Arema fans climbed down from the stands, attempting to meet their team’s players on the pitch, recalled a spectator who was watching from the southern stand.
It had been a disappointing game for the home side: they’d lost 3-2 to Persebaya Surabaya – a team they shared such fierce rivalry with that its supporters are banned from Arema’s ground. This was their first loss against Persebaya after 23 years of undefeated home matches.
The home fans were perhaps going to use their disappointment at their team’s performance as an excuse to demand selfies, added Prayogi, 29, the owner of a shop that sells football clothes, who asked not to give his full name. At that point, things were still calm, he said.
“There was absolutely no tendency to attack Persebaya’s players,” he added. “Their captain even had the time to pray and thank God for their victory in the middle of the field,” he said.
The situation escalated, however. The small group of fans who went down seemed to trigger more supporters to leave the stands. Soon tens, hundreds, and even thousands crowded the field.
The exact sequence of events is unclear, but social media footage shows police using batons to disperse the crowd, kicking supporters and firing teargas.
The teargas – which should not be fired in stadiums, according to Fifa guidance – was used without warning, said three supporters who spoke to the Guardian, including Prayogi.
The East Java regional police chief, Insp Gen Nico Afinta, said that the use of teargas was in accordance with police procedure. It was fired because the fans had acted anarchically and entered the field, he said.
“If the fans had obeyed the rules, this incident would not have happened,” said Afinta.
Zhafran Nashir, 17, a student who had been watching the match with his brother from the eastern stand, said the use of the gas caused panic. He saw teargas fired five times at people waiting in the southern end.
“I think it was unnecessary because the riot occurred right on the field,” he said. “Some on the pitch had tried to get into the players’ locker room, but people on the stands were just watching. When teargas was fired, everyone in the stands rushed to leave. People were being trampled on, he said. His stand was also fired at. When he tried to escape, he saw two children who had lost their parents in the chaos.
Prayogi, who was watching near gate 13 with his wife and friends, decided to stay put until the situation had calmed down. “I held out in the stands even as the gas strangled my throat,” he said. “In my 20 years as an [Arema fan], I have never felt as terrified as I did that night.”
Fans were stuck in a deadly crush at the nearby exit. “The door leading to the exit gate was only two to three metres wide,” Prayogi said, adding that he believes it was locked. The Guardian is unable to confirm this. “The fans were forced to break it down just to leave the field. I think a lot of people were trapped in those halls, packed tightly enough that many of them broke their bones, or fell unconscious after they ran out of breath.”
Officials said 125 people were killed in the disaster and 320 injured.
Rahmat, 23, had been watching from the north side, along with seven of his friends. His stand was also targeted with teargas; his eyes teared up and he felt short of breath. “The police did not warn us before they fired teargas at us. So when the crowd broke, it was full of panicked and suffocating people with burning eyes,” he said.
“The sound of shots ringing out was so deafening. When I first saw the mob and the chaos around me, I thought that my life would end tonight, that I would surely die here.”
Rahmat echoed reports the stadium was filled beyond its capacity. “Some of the audience didn’t even get a seat,” he said.
He waited between 30 minutes and an hour before trying to leave, by which time things had calmed inside the stadium, but the chaos had expanded to the streets.
“The first thing I saw after I left the stadium was people lying on the ground. I thought they were just drunk or unconscious. But after I got home, I realised that what I saw then were corpses,” Rahmet said. He saw two police cars that had been set on fire, and another two cars that had been smashed by fans. Near the exit a raging fire soared high up into the sky.
An official who works for Persebaya, and who first helped evacuate players and managerial staff, said his vehicle was later stoned and torched by Arema fans as he tried to leave the stadium.
“My face was bruised, and we barely escaped being burned alive that night,” said Defri Hariyanto, 30. Within only 20 minutes, the police truck I rode in was set alight by an angry mob. I thought I was going to die.”
He was too traumatised to speak at length about his experience, he said.
All interviewees said they had never witnessed such brutal violence before.
“I can never forget what happened last night,” said Prayogi. “The most painful and terrifying part of all this was opening one body bag at a time to see if I could recognise any friends or family.”
Prayogi added: “Last night, it felt like a human life had no value.”
