Indonesia police: Stadium exit gates too small for escape
Indonesia police have ordered exit gates at the Bandung Stadium to be changed to allow people to escape faster from the overcrowded stadium in the wake of the Jakarta bombings.
The Jakarta Post reported officials are considering changing the gates to allow people to exit the stadium more quickly and avoid the crush of bodies waiting behind them.
The move, according to the Post, is aimed at stemming the growing tide of panic in the stadium.
Indrasil, one of the two stadiums in the Kompas program, is a popular site for fans.
After two days in an emergency shelter, the crush of bodies at a temporary refugee camp in Jakarta was so bad that the Red Cross had to move to an air force base in Bogor to take over the rescue mission.
The official death toll rose to 56.
“This is a real crisis inside the stadium. People are running around here like chickens,” one source told The Jakarta Post.
“We cannot send people in this condition, and the stadium itself cannot handle so many people with this type of mass inhumane.”
The Red Cross has said it will take in more than 300 people, but the plan to send more is still being discussed.
A Red Cross official told the Post the camp on Rokajati street would take in 300 people, but admitted he was still “trying to find the exact number” of people to be sent in.
The Red Cross official, who did not want his name disclosed, said: “How we send them is the problem. We have to put a limit to the number.
“We want to send people, but we also wish we could send more.”
An official in the Indonesian Red Cross said: “There is no way we can take everyone in, and the stadium cannot handle so many people.
“It will be difficult to find places to put them, and the Red Cross has a plan to accommodate more people.
“We might not be able to handle so many people.”
The Red Cross official said if more than 300 people were going to be sent to the camp, he was sure they would try to send them.
“We are already talking about the number of people that can be sent, but we do not know how many people we will send in. It is not