A stampede at Cuscatlan Stadium in San Salvador killed at least 12 people and injured several others during a football match, according to police.
Authorities said that the initial reports pointed to a swarm of fans trying to enter Cuscatlan Stadium in San Salvador, the capital of the Central American nation, to watch a game between Alianza and FAS.
Emergency personnel evacuated individuals from the stadium, where hundreds of police officers and soldiers gathered as ambulance sirens wailed, causing the game to be postponed.
National Civil Police (PNC) director Mauricio Arriaza told reporters, "Preliminarily, we have a negative result of 12 victims, nine who are here in the stadium and three more that we have been informed are in different hospital centers."
"Salvadoran soccer is in mourning," Arriaza said.
Health Minister Francisco Alabi said the country's hospital network was "providing medical care to all patients."
The civil protection service's first responders, according to Interior Minister Juan Carlos Bidegain, were on the scene.
Comandos de Salvamento spokesman Carlos Fuentes stated that they were treating more than 500 individuals.
According to Fuentes, the number of seriously ill patients reached 100, with some exhibiting symptoms of asphyxia and other types of trauma.
He stated that the collapse of a stadium gate, which caused people to congregate, appears to have sparked the stampede.
According to police, at least two of the injured were in critical condition.
Earlier, at least 85 people were killed and dozens more suffered injuries in a stampede during an event to distribute financial aid in Yemen's capital on April 20.
According to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry, the incident occurred in the Old City in the center of Sanaa when hundreds of poor people gathered at an event organised by merchants.
The ministry's spokesman, Brig Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri said the mismanagement by the organizers of the event caused the stampede. He blamed the disaster on the “random distribution” of funds without coordination with local authorities.
Dozens of casualties were taken to nearby hospitals. Motaher al-Marouni, a senior health official in Sanaa, gave the death tally and said at least 13 were seriously injured, according to the Houthi's Al-Masirah satellite TV channel.
The rebels quickly sealed off the school where the event was organised and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.
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