Indonesia – Tragedy at the stadium: Father searched among the bodies to find his wife and daughters

Farmer Andy Harijado, 36, had been with his family to the stadium in Malang, East Java, Indonesia where scenes of chaos unfolded last Saturday when police fired tear gas to disperse angry fans who had entered the pitch at the end of the match.

Authorities have put the death toll at 131 – 33 of the victims were children between the ages of 4 and 17.

Andy lost his wife and two teenage daughters in the massacre and was left alone with his 2-year-old boy.

Although Andy and his family remained in the stands and he was holding his son in his arms, he was separated from his wife and daughters, but managed to reach the medical team that had rushed to help.

“They should never have fired tear gas in the stands because the incidents were unfolding on the pitch,” says the 36-year-old.

When the smoke cleared, Andy began searching for his wife and two daughters, turning over the bodies of spectators who had been trampled as they tried to escape the stadium exits, some of which were locked.

“I continued to search among the bodies and then I found my daughters, Natasya and Naila. I was desperately looking for their mother,” he continues and adds that his 34-year-old wife was initially injured but later succumbed to her injuries at the hospital where she was taken.

Both of the couple’s daughters – 16 and 13 years old – were adopted, as he said.

“I will never watch a football game again. Now all I think about is my son and I have no time for anything else. Now what is important is how to secure food for the next day,” he concludes.

The government will compensate each family of the victims with 3,287 dollars while today the country’s president Joko Widodo arrived in Malang, who will first visit the hospital in the city where the injured have been transferred and then the stadium in Kanjuruhan.

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