At least 9 people died in a stampede at a soccer stadium in El Salvador

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador — At least nine people were killed and dozens injured when soccer fans forced their way through one of the entrance gates to the quarter-finals of the Salvadoran league on Saturday.

According to a preliminary report posted on Twitter by the National Civil Police, nine deaths were confirmed during the match between the Alianza and FAS clubs at the Monumental Stadium in Cuscatlan, located about 25 miles (41 kilometers) northeast of the capital.

At least two of the injured taken to the hospital are in a critical condition, the police said.

Carlos Fuentes, spokesman for the Rescue Commandos first aid group, also confirmed the deaths.

“We confirm nine deaths – seven men and two women – and we have treated more than 500 people and more than 100 have been taken to hospital, some of them seriously,” Fuentes said.

Play was suspended in the 16th minute of the match when frantically waving fans in the stands began to attract the attention of those on the pitch and carry the injured from the tunnel onto the pitch.

The aftermath of the gas attack by Alianza fans was broadcast live on local television. Dozens of them made it to the field, where they received medical treatment. Fans who escaped the crush stood on the field angrily waving shirts and trying to review the people lying on the grass barely moving.

Pedro Hernández, the president of El Salvador’s football first division, said that according to preliminary information he had, the stampede happened because fans managed to push a gate into the stadium.

“There was an avalanche of fans who came through the gate. Some were still under the metal in the tunnel. Others managed to get into the stands and then onto the field and were suffocated,” an unidentified volunteer of the Rescue Commandos first aid team told reporters.

Mauricio Arriza Chicas, the national civil police captain, said at the scene of the tragedy that an investigation will be launched together with the General Prosecutor’s Office.

“We will look at the entrances to the stadium from the ticket sales, but especially the south zone,” where, he said, “where the gates were opened.”

The Salvadoran Football Association said in a statement that it regrets what happened and expressed its support for the families of the victims.