At least nine killed in El Salvador stadium stampede

At least nine people have died after a stampede at a football stadium in El Salvador’s capital, San Salvador, officials have said.

Police said seven men and two women were among the dead, with all the victims over the age of 18.
The crush occurred during a match between local team Alianza and Santa Ana based team Fas at the Monumental stadium.

The match was subsequently suspended with around 10 minutes played.

The disaster reportedly occurred after a stampede began when a large number of fans tried to enter the venue after the gates had been closed.

The two sides had been facing off in a quarter-finals clash of the country’s premier division, and footage shared by local media appeared to show fans attempting to pull down barricades at the stadium’s entrance.

El Salvador’s health minister, Francisco Alabi, tweeted that the government had deployed ambulances from nearby hospitals to the stadium with the injured being sent to different public institutions for treatment.