A medical team arrives following a stampede prior to a soccer game between C.D. FAS Vs. Alianza F.C. at the Cuzcatlan stadium, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 20, 2023.  REUTERS/ Jose Cabezas
El Salvador

At least 12 dead in stampede at El Salvador stadium

Nine people died in a stampede at El Salvador stadium, the AFP said on Twitter, citing the police on Saturday.

SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) -At least 12 people died and an unspecified number were injured in a stampede at a soccer stadium in El Salvador on Saturday, the Central American government tweeted.

On Saturday night, the Alianza F.C. and Club Deportivo FAS teams were playing a quarter-final game at the Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador, the capital.

Play was suspended after a stampede broke out in the general section of the stadium, a venue with a capacity for more than 44,000 fans.

An ambulance arrives following a stampede prior to a soccer game between C.D. FAS Vs. Alianza F.C. at the Cuzcatlan stadium, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 20, 2023.

"The Salvadoran Football Federation deeply regrets the events that occurred at the Cuscatlan Stadium," the organization wrote on Twitter. "It also expresses solidarity with the relatives of those affected and deceased in this incident."

A fan is attended to in an ambulance following a stampede prior to a soccer game between C.D. FAS Vs. Alianza F.C. at the Cuzcatlan stadium, in San Salvador, El Salvador May 20, 2023.

The tweet added the organization would immediately request a report on the incident.

(Reporting by Maria Ponnezhath in Bengaluru; Nelson Renteria in San Salvador, writing by Sarah Kinosian; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)

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