When the gates were opened, thousands of fans entered a narrow tunnel leading to the rear of the terrace into two overcrowded central pens (pens 3 and 4), creating pressure at the front. Hundreads of people were pressed against one another and the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. People entering unaware of the problems at the fence; police or stewards usually stood at the entrance to the tunnel and, when the central pens reached capacity, directed fans to the side pens.
The problem at the pens were unnoticed by the match, but the referee stopped the game after fans climbed the fence in a effort to escape the crush and went onto track.
By this time, a small gate in the fence had been forced open and some fans escaped via this route, as others continued to climb over the fencing. And, finally, the intensity of the crush broke the crush barriers on the terrace.
In 2016, a new inquiry returned a verdict that the victims were unlawfully killed as a result of many reasons including poor police management, stadium design and maintenance and inadequate response by emergency services.
