At least 174 people were killed and scores were injured at a football stadium in Indonesia after thousands of fans invaded the pitch and police fired teargas that caused a panic, authorities said on Sunday.

The tragedy on Saturday night in the eastern city of Malang is one of the world’s deadliest sporting stadium disasters.

Arema FC supporters at the Kanjuruhan Stadium took to the pitch late on Saturday after their team lost 3-2 to visitors and bitter rivals, Persebaya Surabaya.

Police, who described the unrest as rioting, said they tried to persuade fans to return to the stands and fired tear gas after two officers were killed. Many of the victims were trampled or choked to death, according to police.

East Java police chief Nico Afinta said many people were crushed and suffocated when they ran to one exit.

East Java’s Vice Governor Emil Dardak told Kompas TV in an interview on Sunday the death toll has climbed to 174, while more than 100 injured people are receiving intensive care treatment in eight hospitals without any charge, 11 of them in critical condition.

A hospital director told local television station that one of the victims was five years old.

Images captured from inside the stadium showed huge clouds of teargas and people clambering over fences.

People were carrying injured spectators through the chaos. Video footage circulating on social media showed people shouting obscenities at riot police.

The stadium holds 42,000 people and authorities said it was a sell-out. Police said 3,000 people stormed the pitch.

“We would like to convey that … not all of them were anarchic. Only about 3,000 who entered the pitch,” Mr Afinta said.

Burnt-out vehicles, including a police van, littered the streets outside the stadium on Sunday morning. Police said 13 vehicles in total were damaged.

The Indonesian government apologised for the incident and promised to investigate the circumstances surrounding it.

“This is a regrettable incident that injures our football at a time when supporters can watch football matches from the stadium,” Indonesian Sports and Youth Minister Zainudin Amali told broadcaster Kompas.

“We will thoroughly evaluate the organisation of the match and the attendance of supporters. Will we return to banning supporters from attending the matches? That is what we will discuss.”

Fan violence is an enduring problem in Indonesia, where great rivalries have turned into deadly confrontations.