Mass panic in the national stadium of Peru 1964

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The Estadio Nacional

The stampede at the National Stadium of Peru , also known as soccer riots of Lima ( english Lima football riot ), occurred on May 24, 1964 at the Olympic qualifier between Peru and Argentina. With almost 350 dead and between 500 and 1000 injured, it is the most devastating accident in the history of football to date , the largest stadium disaster and one of the largest disasters in modern sport. As a result, there were violent riots and protests across the country, whereupon the Peruvian government declared a state of emergency. Later investigations revealed that a wrong order from the police in this situation was primarily responsible for the mass panic was.

background

The game in the Estadio Nacional in the Peruvian capital of Lima was for the Peruvian team of great importance, since Argentina already safe for the finals of the Olympic Games in Tokyo was qualified and Peru with a win or draw in the CONMEBOL at table Brazil would be passed by. Between 45,000 and 53,000 spectators watched the game in the sold-out stadium, which was called the “safest sports arena in South America” when it was built. Due to the large crowd and to prevent unauthorized access, the stadium gates were locked before the start of the game.

course

Argentina led 1-0 after a goal by Néstor Manfredi in the 60th minute of the game, when six minutes (two minutes according to another source) before the end of the game Peru's alleged equalizer by Víctor Lobatón was denied by Uruguayan referee Ángel Eduardo Paros, who saw a foul has been. This decision caused an uproar among fans at home, with objects being thrown from the stands and protective fences being torn down. Two fans ran onto the field and in the direction of the referee before they were brutally stopped by the police officers present and transported from the field. Together with the announced abandonment of the game, this additionally heated the mood and ultimately led to a storm . To prevent more fans from entering the field, the Policía Nacional del Perú used tear gas and police dogs , while the two teams were escorted into the cabins and finally brought to safety by bus. The gas clouds caused mass panic and flight-like movements in the direction of the playing field and the exits.

At that time, the stadium's tunnels, which connected the seating areas to the outside area via several stairs, were not provided with the usual steel gates, but with corrugated iron gates . As the crowd moved down the stairs, those onlookers approaching the end of the tunnel were pressed against the walls and corrugated iron gates. Since the corrugated iron gates could only be opened inwards, fans outside the stadium could not open them after panic broke out. The gates finally gave in to the immense pressure. In the vicinity of the stadium there were violent clashes between fans and the armed police, which resulted in shots being fired.

Most of the deaths occurred inside the staircase and tunnel, mostly from internal bleeding or asphyxia . Various sources speak of 318, 328, 340, 350, over 400 or even over 500 fatalities. At least four people died from police gunfire. According to the BBC , this is said to have been deliberately concealed. Two of those killed were police officers. Between 500 and 1000 people were injured, some seriously. For the official number of victims, only people who had an accident inside the stadium were taken into account, which is why various media also reported higher numbers of victims.

consequences

When the tragedy became known, rioting broke out in the city. Angry fans damaged vehicles around the stadium and in the city center, rioted on private property, looted shops and set buildings on fire. Large crowds then demonstrated in front of President Fernando Belaúnde Terry's palace against police violence or demanded vengeance elsewhere. The political opposition sharply criticized the use of the police. The government was eventually forced to deploy the Peruvian military to restore order and impose a curfew . A one-month state of emergency and a seven-day state mourning were declared nationwide , and the government announced that it would cover all funeral costs.

In the years immediately after the disaster, violence among the audience was often cited as a trigger for the mass panic and a connection to hooliganism was even made. Only later investigations have shown that the responsibility for the mass panic lay with the police using tear gas. However, there have never been official investigations, which is why the exact number of fatalities is not clear. Judge Benjamín Castañeda, who was tasked with investigative work immediately after the tragedy, was also unable to find the bodies of those who died outside the stadium. In his report, he went so far as to claim that more people were killed by police shots than by the mass panic itself.

The head of the stadium police, Jorge Azambuja, who ordered the use of tear gas, was sentenced to 30 months in prison seven years after the accident. He later admitted that he had underestimated the consequences of the order. 40 of the 154 officers deployed were suspended from duty . Lima's police chief Ernesto Gómez Cornejo resigned, and an officer who was jointly responsible for the use of tear gas committed suicide. Víctor Vásquez, who was the first to run onto the field after the goal was lost, was sentenced to several years in prison. During the rioting and because of the high need for police and officials, 31 prisoners escaped from a nearby prison.

Despite the abandonment of the game, the game was rated with the result of 0: 1, the other group games were canceled. Argentina was thus directly qualified for the Olympic Games, while Peru had to play in a play-off against Brazil and lost 4-0.

The stadium was closed for several months as a consequence of the accident. The capacity was reduced from 53,000 to 42,000, and security was immediately increased. Numerous renovation measures have taken place since the 1990s. For the Copa America 2004 , the capacity was increased again slightly.

See also

literature

  • Charles Parrish: Estadio Nacional Disaster of 1964 (Lima, Peru). In John Nauright, Charles Parrish (Ed.): Sports around the World: History, Culture, and Practice (= Volume 3: Latin America and Nort America ). ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara 2012, ISBN 978-1-59884-301-9 , pp. 97f.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Lima 1964: The world's worst stadium disaster on bbc.com from May 23, 2014, accessed on September 28, 2018 (engl.)
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g The 1964 Estadio Nacional Tragedy on WordPress from February 3, 2015, accessed on October 10, 2018 (Engl.)
  3. ↑ 10 worst stadium disasters in history on punchng.com from April 26, 2016, accessed October 10, 2018
  4. ↑ a b c Gates closed in the Spiegel from June 23, 1964, accessed on September 18, 2018
  5. ↑ a b c d Charles Parrish: Sports Around the World: History, Culture, and Practice, Volume 2 , p. 97, ABC-CLIO , Santa Barbara 2012 (at Google Books , Engl.)
  6. ↑ a b c d e f 300 Dead In Lima As Rioting Erupts At Soccer Match , in New York Times, May 25, 1964, accessed October 7, 2018
  7. ↑ a b c d Hundreds dead in stampede at football match in The Guardian, May 26, 1964, accessed October 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ a b The Estadio Nacional Desaster at football-stadiums.co.uk, accessed October 12, 2018.
  9. ↑ Football's worst tragedies on bbc.co.uk from April 12, 2001, accessed on September 28, 2018
  10. ↑ a b The death trap in Lima in Neue Zürcher Zeitung of May 22, 2014, accessed on September 28, 2018
  11. ↑ a b c But we won the war in Der Spiegel on May 27, 1974, accessed on October 10, 2018