Fatal stampede mars Southeast Asian Games

JAKARTA - Two people were killed and a young boy was fighting for his life in a coma after a terrifying stampede when thousands of fans jammed a Jakarta stadium for the Southeast Asian Games football final.

All 88000 tickets at the cavernous Gelora Bung Karno stadium had been snapped up for the keenly anticipated showdown on Monday night between the hosts and their rivals Malaysia, the visitors taking gold 4-3 on penalties.

With the game sold out, tens of thousands of eager supporters gathered outside the stadium, some hoping to buy tickets from touts and others finding spots in front of large outdoor screens, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

But 5000 police were unable to control the crowd when a gate was momentarily opened and there was a crush to get in.

"The two victims died when the stadium doors at section 15 opened and everyone rushed in," Jakarta city police spokesman Baharudin Djafar told AFP.

"One of the bodies was identified and has been returned to his family, while the other is still at the morgue. Several others were taken to hospital with minor injuries, but one young boy slipped into a coma."

In the chaos, the bodies of the two men trampled to death - both wearing the Indonesian team's jersey - could not be immediately evacuated, police said. Hundreds of people had been packed against the ticket barriers while fans inside the stadium were forced to crouch in aisles and walkways, witnesses said.