Rock concert stampede kills 10 in Indonesia

The stampede occurred late Tuesday in the town of Kedungwuni, 90 kilometres west of the provincial capital Semarang, as popular band Ungu (Purple) played in a packed football stadium.

"We have identified nine of the victims," Pekajangan district hospital staffer Wawan told AFP, adding that the identity of one man was not yet known.

Wawan said the victims were aged between 15 and 20. Three of them were women.

The stampede happened when people tried to exit the stadium, which "has only two exits, each five metres wide", local police officer Dimas told Detikcom news portal.

The stadium, built to accommodate 3,000 people, was packed to almost double its capacity.

"We recommended 3,000 tickets (to be sold) but the organisers sold more than 5,000," Pekalongan police chief Hari Nartanto told ElShinta news radio.

Eight of the organisers are being questioned by the police and "they will face criminal charges if found guilty of negligence", Nartanto said.

Police cancelled all planned public events for New Year's Eve in the area.

Tuesday's incident was not the first deadly stampede at an Indonesian rock concert. Four people were killed in 2004 at a concert by Sheila on 7 in South Kalimantan.

Another four people were killed at a performance by the same group in Lampung in 2004, when thousands of fans who did not have tickets broke into the stadium where the concert was being held.