Hillsborough disaster

The Hillsborough disaster was a deadly human crush that occurred on April 15, 1989, at Hillsborough, a football stadium in Sheffield, England, resulting in the loss of 96 lives.

Overview

Liverpool F.C. were involved in their 17th FA Cup Semi-Final, to be played against Nottingham Forest F.C. at Hillsborough, the home of Sheffield Wednesday F.C..

Related Topics:
Liverpool F.C. - FA Cup - Nottingham Forest F.C. - Sheffield Wednesday F.C.

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At the time most stadiums had placed high chainlink fencing between the spectators and the pitch, in response to hooliganism which had plagued the sport for years. Hooliganism was a particularly strong influence in the United Kingdom, where it often involved pitch invasions and the throwing of a variety of missiles. This fencing was later identified as one of the main factors leading to the disaster. The part of the stadium where the problem occurred was also a "terrace" area, a cheaper standing section without seats that was determined to be a major contributing factor to the disaster. Terraces were frequently divided by further chainlink fencing into sections called pens to aid crowd control.

Related Topics:
Hooliganism - United Kingdom - Pitch

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The Hillsborough Stadium was segregated between the opposing fans as was customary at all large games at neutral venues: the Liverpool supporters being assigned to the Leppings Lane End. Kick off was scheduled for 3.00pm but due to a variety of factors including traffic delays on the route to Sheffield from Liverpool many of the Liverpool supporters were later than usual arriving. Between 2.00pm and 2.45pm there was a considerable build up of fans in the small area outside the turnstiles at the Leppings Lane End, all eager to enter the stadium before the match started. A bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than entering the stadium. With an estimated 5,000 fans trying to get through the turnstiles and an increasingly dangerous situation, the police decided to open a second set of gates which did not have turnstiles (Gate C). The resulting inpouring of hundreds, or possibly thousands, of fans through a narrow tunnel at the rear of the terrace and into the already overcrowded central two pens caused a crush at the front where people were pressed against the fencing. The people entering were unaware of the problems being experienced at the fence and for some time the problem was not noticed by anybody (other than those affected), it was not until 3:06pm that the referee stopped the game. By this time a small gate in the fencing had been opened and some fans escaped the crush by this route — others climbed over the fencing, and further fans were pulled up by fellow fans into the upper tier above the Leppings Lane terrace.

Related Topics:
Fan - Turnstile

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The pitch quickly started to fill with people sweating and gasping for breath, those with crush injuries, and with the bodies of the dead. The police and ambulance services were overwhelmed by the scale of the disaster and fans helped as best they could, many attempting CPR and some tearing down advertising hoardings to act as makeshift stretchers.

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The crush ultimately took the lives of 96 people, with 766 fans receiving injuries.

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Graphic footage of the disaster was available because the match was being broadcast and this, along with the number of fatalities made an extreme impact on the general UK population.

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A permanent tribute to those who lost their lives can be found alongside the Shankly Gates at Anfield. A further tribute was set up in 1999 at Hillsborough.

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