| Hillsborough Disaster |
Article Index for Hillsborough |
Shopping Hillsborough |
Website Links For Hillsborough |
Information AboutHillsborough 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 deaths of 96 people (all fans of Liverpool Football Club ). PRE HILLSBOROUGH DISASTER At the time, most stadiums had placed high steel fencing between the spectators and the Pitch , in response to Hooliganism which had plagued the sport for years.1 Hooliganism was particularly virulent in England , where it often involved Pitch Invasion s and/or the throwing of a variety of missiles. British stadia had a history of crushes occurring since the 1960s.2 Hillsborough Stadium was a regular venue for FA Cup semi-finals during the 1980s, hosting a total of five. A previous crush had occurred in the same stand during the 1981 semi-final between Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers , causing a total of 38 injuries. This prompted Sheffield Wednesday to alter the design of the Leppings Lane end, dividing it into three separate pens. This was further divided into five pens when Wednesday were promoted to Division 1 in 1985.3 Liverpool and Nottingham Forest had also met at the same ground the previous year without incident, during the semi-final stage of the FA Cup. THE DISASTER Build up Hillsborough Stadium was segregated between the opposing Fan s, as was customary at all large matches; the Liverpool supporters were assigned to the Leppings Lane End of the stadium. Kick-off was scheduled for 3.00pm with fans advised to take up their seats 15 minutes beforehand. Between 2.30pm and 2.40pm there was a considerable build-up of fans in the small area outside the Turnstile entrances to the Leppings Lane End, all eager to enter the stadium quickly before the match started. A Bottleneck developed with more fans arriving than were able to enter the stadium. With an estimated 5,000 fans trying to get through the turnstiles and increasing security concerns over crushing outside the turnstiles, the police decided to open up a set of gates, intended as an exit, which did not have turnstiles (Gate C). This caused a rush of supporters through the gate into the stadium. The crush The resulting influx of thousands of fans through a narrow tunnel at the rear of the terrace and into the already overcrowded central two pens caused a huge crush at the front of the terrace, where people were being pressed up against the fencing by the weight of the crowd behind them. The people entering were unaware of the problems being experienced at the fence — police or stewards would normally stand at the entrance to the tunnel if these central pens had reached capacity and would direct fans to the side pens, but on this occasion did not, for reasons which have never been completely explained. For some time the problem at the front was not noticed by anybody other than those affected; the match had already started and most people were absorbed by that. It was not until 3:06pm that the referee, after being advised by the police, stopped the match several minutes after fans had started climbing the fence to escape the crush. By this time a small gate in the fencing had been forced open and some fans escaped the crush by this route — others climbed over the fencing, and further fans were pulled up to safety by fellow fans into the West Stand directly above the Leppings Lane terrace. Fans were packed so tightly in the pens that many died standing up. 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, stewards and ambulance service present at the stadium were overwhelmed. Other fans helped as best they could, many attempting CPR and some tearing down advertising hoardings to act as makeshift stretchers. As these events happened some police officers were still being deployed to make a cordon on the Halfway Line of the pitch, with the aim of preventing Liverpool supporters reaching the Nottingham Forest fans at the opposite end of the stadium. Some fans attempted to break through the police cordon to ferry injured supporters to waiting ambulances, and were forcibly turned back. Aftermath A total of 94 people died on the day, with 766 other fans receiving various injuries. The death toll reached 95 Four Days Later , when 14-year-old Lee Nicol died in hospital from his injuries. The final death toll became 96 in March 1993 , when Tony Bland died after remaining in a coma for nearly four years. Graphic television footage of the disaster was shown live on BBC Television 's ''Grandstand'' as the tragedy was unfolding and this, along with the large number of fatalities, made an extreme emotional impact on the general British population. A permanent tribute to those who lost their lives can be found alongside the Shankly Gates at Anfield , home stadium of Liverpool F.C. A further tribute was set up in 1999 at Hillsborough stadium itself. There is also a memorial stone in the pavement on the south side of Liverpool Cathedral . THE TAYLOR INQUIRY See Also: Taylor Report Following the disaster, Lord Justice Taylor was appointed to conduct an inquiry into the disaster. Taylor's inquiry sat for thirty-one days and published two reports, one interim report that laid out the events of the day and immediate conclusions and one final report that made general recommendations on football ground safety. This became known as the Taylor Report.4 As a result of the report, fences in front of fans were removed and all Football Clubs playing in the UK's highest divisions (chiefly the Football League First Division and Scottish Premier Division ) were further required to refurbish their stadiums in order that they be all-seated.5 Police control There was considerable debate over some aspects of the disaster; in particular, attention was focused on the decision to open the secondary gates. It was suggested that it would have been better to delay the start of the match as had often been done at other venues and matches. In defence the police claimed that they were concerned that the crush outside the stadium was getting out of control and accusations were made that some Liverpool fans did not have tickets and were trying to force the turnstiles. Other accusations of misbehaviour were made in relation to the crowd. However, no substantial evidence was presented to support any of these claims, with Lord Justice Taylor making particular effort to refute them in his interim report. Stadium design Although it was noted that Hillsborough was considered "one of the best in the country", Sheffield Wednesday were criticised for the low number of turnstiles at the Leppings Lane end and the poor quality of the crush barriers on the terraces there. The Taylor Report however stated that the official cause of the disaster was the failure of police control. Due to the low number of turnstiles it has been estimated that it would have taken until 3.40pm to get all ticket holders in to the Leppings Lane end had an exit gate not been opened. Gate C was opened to let more fans in, however the total number of fans entering the terrace is not thought to have been more than the capacity of the standing area. The disaster was caused by the fact that the majority of fans entering the terraces headed for the central pens 3 and 4. Normally a police officer or steward would direct fans away from full pens, but on the day this did not happen. The official capacity of these pens was around 2000, however the Health And Safety Executive later found that this should have been reduced to around 1600 as the crush barriers did not conform to the ''Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds 1986''. It is estimated that the number of people in these pens shortly after kick off at 3.00pm was over 3000. This overcrowding caused the fatal crush.67 Other aggravating factors There were accusations that the behaviour of the Liverpool fans contributed to the disaster. These centred around consumption of alcohol before the game and attempts to enter the ground without a ticket. Although Lord Taylor acknowledged that these aggravated the situation they were only minor factors. Witness estimates of the number of fans that were drunk varied from a minority to the large proportion of the crowd. Although it was clear that many fans had been drinking, Lord Taylor stated that most of them "were not drunk nor even the worse for drink". He concluded that they only formed an exacerbating factor. The possibility of fans attempting to gain entry without tickets or with forgeries contributing to the disaster was also suggested. South Yorkshire police also suggested that the late arrival of fans amounted to a conspiracy in order to gain entry without tickets. Analysis of the electronic monitoring system, Health and Safety Executive Analysis and eye witness accounts however showed that there was not an excessively large number of ticketless fans. The report dismissed the conspiracy theory. PROSECUTION |
|
|