El Salvador mourns 12 killed in soccer stadium stampede

A makeshift memorial for victims of a stampede is pictured outside Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador on May 21, 2023. – El Salvador was in shock on May 21, 2023 after 12 people died and hundreds were injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium, as the country’s president vowed an investigation. (Photo by MARVIN RECINOS / AFP)

El Salvador soccer fans were mourning Sunday after 12 people died and hundreds were injured in a stampede at a stadium, with the country’s president vowing an investigation.

Authorities said initial reports pointed to a crush of fans who tried to enter the 35,000-seat Cuscatlan Stadium in the Central American country’s capital San Salvador to watch a game between two local teams, Alianza and FAS.

The match was suspended as emergency personnel evacuated people from the stadium, where hundreds of police officers and soldiers gathered as ambulance sirens wailed.

Carlos Fuentes, spokesman for the emergency services group Comandos de Salvamento, said they were treating more than 500 people for various injuries, while civil protection authorities said 88 people in total were hospitalized.

The stampede started after a stadium gate fell, causing people to crowd together, Fuentes said.

Fredy Alexander Ruiz, a 28-year-old survivor, said he was “traumatized from seeing people thrown on the ground, dead, bruised, with their faces stepped on.”

The stampede started 10 minutes into the game and after it was suspended even the players joined in the frantic rescue efforts.

“I had five people on top of me that were suffocating me,” said Ruiz. “Thank God, I was able to grab the foot of a policeman, and he and a friend of mine pulled me out.”

On Sunday night, dozens of Alianza fans set up a memorial to victims, placing a “Rest in