Police tried to stop fans invading the pitch
At least 129 people have died in a stampede at an Indonesian football match, officials say, in one of the world's worst stadium disasters.
The stampede happened after police tear-gassed rioting supporters.
About 180 were injured in the crush after Arema FC lost to bitter rivals Persebaya Surabaya in East Java.
The country's chief security minister said that the number of spectators exceeded the stadium's capacity by around 4,000 people.
President Joko Widodo has ordered that all matches in Indonesia's top league must be stopped until an investigation has been concluded.
Videos show fans running on to the pitch after the final whistle.
Police then fired tear gas, leading to a crowd stampede and cases of suffocation, said Nico Afinta, police chief in East Java.
"It had gotten anarchic. They started attacking officers, they damaged cars," he said, adding that two police officers were among the dead.
"We would like to convey that... not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch," he said.
Fleeing fans "went out to one point at the exit. Then there was a build-up, in the process of accumulation there was shortness of breath, lack of oxygen", he added.
Videos on social media show fans clambering over fences to escape. Separate videos appear to show lifeless bodies on the floor.
Fifa, the world's governing football body, states that no "crowd control gas" should be carried or used by stewards or police at matches.
The Indonesian football association (PSSI) said it had launched an investigation, adding that the incident had "tarnished the face of Indonesian football".
Violence at football matches is not new in Indonesia, and Arema FC and Persebaya Surabaya are long-time rivals.
Persebaya Surabaya fans were banned from buying tickets for the game because of fears of clashes.
But Chief Security Minister Mahfud MD posted on Instagram that 42,000 tickets had been sold for the match at the Kanjuruhan stadium, which has a capacity of 38,000.
President Widodo called for this to be the "last soccer tragedy in the nation" after ordering that all Liga 1 games should be paused pending an investigation.
The stampede is the latest in a long line of disasters at stadiums.
In the UK, 97 Liverpool fans were crushed to death in 1989 at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. (Text: BBC, ecluding headline)
NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s leading online newspaper. Published by Africa’s international award-winning journalist, Mr. Isaac Umunna, NEWS EXPRESS is Nigeria’s first truly professional online daily newspaper. It is published from Lagos, Nigeria’s economic and media hub, and has a provision for occasional special print editions. Thanks to our vast network of sources and dedicated team of professional journalists and contributors spread across Nigeria and overseas, NEWS EXPRESS has become synonymous with newsbreaks and exclusive stories from around the world.
