Indonesia stadium tragedy: tributes paid to fan who helped others escape

The Indonesian resident, Joko Widodo, visited victims of the Kanjuruhan stadium disaster on Wednesday, vowing to find the “root” of the tragedy as demands for justice grew.

The president said he would order an audit of all football stadiums in the country, saying: “I want to know the root of the problem that caused this tragedy so that we can get the best solution.”

As Widodo visited relatives of the victims and talked to survivors of the tragedy at a hospital, families continued to grieve and call for answers.

Late into Tuesday evening, mourners filed into a funeral home in Watugede village, Malang, to pay their respects to Iwan Junaedi, one of the 131 people killed on Saturday. Iwan, 44, was a prominent figure among Arema FC’s passionate fans, known as Aremania, and was well loved within the community. He died, say friends, trying to open a gate to save other fans.

“Until today, I still never thought that Mas Iwan would end up like this. He lost his life supporting his beloved football team. But I’m sure up there he is smiling. Surely because he has fulfilled his promise: to support Arema until his last breath,” said his wife, Eka Wulandari.

As panic spread amid the firing of teargas by police, Iwan prioritised helping others, friends told his wife.

First, he gathered all the members of Curvanord - the organisation of Arema supporters he founded – and ensured they were able to get out of Kanjuruhan safely. They waited, crammed tightly, eyes stinging and weeping, for an hour, before they could finally get outside the stadium.

Iwan rested for half an hour with others in the car park. Then he went back towards gate four alone, determined to help others get out.With his remaining energy, he tried to open the locked gate