Estadio Nacional disaster

Coordinates: 12°04′02.2″S 77°02′01.4″W / 12.067278°S 77.033722°W / -12.067278; -77.033722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

National Stadium Tragedy
Estadio Nacional, Lima, Peru
Coordinates12°04′02.2″S 77°02′01.4″W / 12.067278°S 77.033722°W / -12.067278; -77.033722
CauseA stampede as a result of the police gassing the crowd who rebelled against the match.
Deaths328
Non-fatal injuries500

The Estadio Nacional disaster took place on 24 May 1964 at the

crushing against the steel shutters that led down to the street. The incident is considered the worst disaster in the history of association football
.

Background

On 24 May 1964,

football tournament, was seen as vital for Peru, then holding the second qualifying place in the CONMEBOL table, who would face a tough match against Brazil
in their final game. The match attracted a crowd of 53,000 to the stadium.

Events

With Argentina leading 1–0 and six minutes of normal time remaining, a would-be equalising goal by Peru was disallowed by Uruguayan referee Ángel Eduardo Pazos. This decision infuriated the home fans and triggered a pitch invasion. Peruvian police fired tear gas canisters into the northern grandstand to prevent further fans from invading the field of play. This caused panic and an attempt at a mass exodus to avoid the gas.

Rather than standard gates, the stadium had solid

crush of bodies inside. All of those that died were killed in the stairwells down to the street level, most from internal haemorrhaging or asphyxia. No one who stayed inside the stadium died.[2][3] In the street, the crowd caused destruction to private property around the stadium.[citation needed
]

Aftermath

The official death toll is 328, but this may be an underestimate since deaths by gunshot were not counted in the official estimates.

Bradford fire, the Heysel disaster, the 1971 Ibrox disaster, the 1902 Ibrox disaster, and the Burnden Park disaster combined. Following the incident, a decision was made to reduce the seating capacity of the stadium from 53,000 to 42,000 in 1964, although this was later increased to 47,000 for the 2004 Copa América.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Piers Edwards (23 May 2014). "Lima 1964: The world's worst stadium disaster". BBC News. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Football's worst tragedies". BBC News. 12 April 2001.
  3. ^
    RPP Noticias
    (in Spanish). 24 May 2009. Retrieved 14 October 2012.

12°04′02.2″S 77°02′01.4″W / 12.067278°S 77.033722°W / -12.067278; -77.033722

External links

Lima 1964: The world's worst stadium disaster (BBC)

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