'A time to help': Indonesians ran to aid of fleeing fans in stadium stampede

After police fired tear gas into packed terraces triggering the crush that killed 131 people, fleeing spectators sought refuge in the stadium's media centre. A man was convulsing and gasping for air as Sucipto helped him into the centre. Like so many others who were trampled or suffocated in the crush Saturday, the man died, he said.

Read Also32 children died in Indonesia stadium disaster

At least 32 children died in Indonesia's stadium disaster, an official said Monday, as the government ordered police to identify the "perpetrators" of one of the deadliest disasters in football history. The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang saw a total of 125 people killed and 323

"I was shocked. It was traumatic and I eventually stepped aside," said the 43-year-old, who has worked as a photographer for more than a decade and was covering the match for a local news agency. In the aftermath of witnessing the horrors at Kanjuruhan stadium, Sucipto now beats himself up, guilty that he didn't run to the aid of others suffering that night. "Why couldn't I help more?" he asked, saying he now becomes emotional when he sees the Arema FC fans donning the home team's jersey. Around the stadium in the city of Malang, there were others who witnessed the tragedy unfold and rushed to the aid of those caught in the stampede. Edy Tanto's kiosk on the outer ring of Arema FC's stadium was packed with fans without tickets watching the derby against fierce rivals Persebaya Surabaya before the final whistle. As fans rushed to express their displeasure at the first home defeat in more than two decades to their adversaries from the biggest city in East Java, the tide turned. Tanto said he saw people begin to pour out of the stadium when chaos