Indonesian President Widodo has called for a comprehensive investigation into the tragedy at a football match.

BANGKOK, 2 October – RIA Novosti. Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called for a comprehensive investigation into the riots that led to mass deaths at the country’s first league football match in Malang, Indonesia’s national news agency ANTARA reported on Sunday.

At least 174 people died as a result of the stampede in the city stadium, according to the latest data cited by Indonesian media, with reference to the deputy governor of East Java province, where the city of Malang is located.

The President has instructed the leadership of the country’s police and the Indonesian Football Federation to conduct a thorough investigation into the tragedy, ANTARA reported.

“We must make this football tragedy the last in the country’s history,” the president quoted by the agency. said.

According to ANTARA, the stampede at the stadium occurred after the Indonesian first division match between teams “Arema” (Malang) and “Persebaya” (Surabaya) on Saturday evening. Arema team lost a match for the first time in 22 years and lost at home. After the final whistle, a group of angry fans entered the field and started chasing their team’s referees and players. The police, who went on the field and tried to persuade the fans, were also injured. Within minutes, more than 3,000 fans of the losing team took to the field. Most of the policemen who kept order in the match were taken to the field. At that time, another department organized the evacuation of the 40,000-seat stadium of the fans of the winning Persebay team, who were then taken out of the city in buses with police escorts.

Despite reinforcements from the police force, law enforcement were unable to calm the crowd on the stadium pitch, after which it was decided to use special crowd control equipment, including tear gas grenades.

The report said tear gas caused panic in the crowd and many rioters suffocated in addition to eye damage. As a result, a stampede occurred at one of the exits of the football field.

According to the agency, more than 40 people died at the scene during the stampede, and dozens more died from injuries sustained in hospitals where they were taken out of the stadium. Hospitals in Malang City continue to report deaths to authorities about the deaths of admitted fans. Two police officers are among the dead.

Indonesia has suspended all matches of its national football championship until further notice.