17 killed in stampede at boxing match

This photo shows the interior of the stadium where more than a dozen of people were killed in a stampede after spectators rioted to protest a local boxer's loss, in Nabire, papua province, Indonesia, Monday, July 15, 2013. The victims, mostly women, were trampled to death as about 1,500 spectators scrambled out the stadium to escape the riot that broke out just before midnight Sunday, said Lt. Col. Gede Sumerta Jaya, police spokesman in Papua province. (AP Photo) -----

This photo shows the interior of the stadium where more than a dozen of people were killed in a stampede after spectators rioted to protest a local boxer's loss, in Nabire, papua province, Indonesia, Monday, July 15, 2013. The victims, mostly women, were trampled to death as about 1,500 spectators scrambled out the stadium to escape the riot that broke out just before midnight Sunday, said Lt. Col. Gede Sumerta Jaya, police spokesman in Papua province. (AP Photo) -----

Published Jul 15, 2013

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Jakarta - At least 17 people were killed and 39 injured in a stampede triggered by fighting among fans after a boxing match on Sunday in the remote Indonesian province of Papua.

The fighting was sparked by a dispute over scoring for the match, prompting about 1 500 spectators to try to flee the stadium in Nabire city in the country's resource-rich, eastern-most province, said deputy national police spokesman Agus Rianto.

Media reports said the stadium had only two working exits.

“There were military and police personnel present in the stadium, but with so many people panicking ... the situation quickly got out of control,” Rianto told Reuters.

Most of the dead were women. Among the injured were 17 men, 13 women and nine children. - Reuters

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