MALANG: At least 32 children died in Indonesia’s stadium crush, an official said Monday as police moved to punish those responsible for one of the deadliest disasters in football history.

The tragedy on Saturday night in the city of Malang saw a total of 125 people killed and 323 others injured after officers fired tear gas in a packed stadium to quell a pitch invasion, triggering a stampede.

“From the latest data we received, out of 125 people who died in the accident, 32 of them were children, with the youngest being a toddler age three or four,“ said Nahar, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

As anger mounted against police, Indonesia’s chief security minister Mahfud MD announced a task force had been formed to investigate and called for those responsible to be punished.

“We asked (police) to unveil who has perpetrated the crimes and take action against them and we also hope the national police will evaluate their security procedures,“ he said in a broadcast statement.

The police force sacked its local chief in Malang within hours of the minister’s speech.

“Tonight the national police chief has made a decision to relieve Malang police chief Ferli Hidayat from his duty and replace him,“ national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo told a press conference.

East Java police also suspended nine officers on the instruction of the national police force, he said, without providing details about their role in the tragedy.