Indonesian police said they were investigating over a dozen officers responsible for firing tear gas that set off a crush that killed 125 people at a soccer match, as families and friends grieved Monday for the victims that included 17 children.Distraught family members were struggling to comprehend the sudden loss of loved ones at the match in East Java’s Malang city that was watched only by hometown Arema FC fans. The organizer had banned visiting Persebaya Surabaya’s supporters due to Indonesia’s history of violent soccer rivalries.The crush was among the world’s deadliest disasters at a sporting event.Witnesses said fans flooded the pitch and demanded that Arema management explain why, after 23 years of undefeated home matches against Persebaya, Saturday night’s ended in a 3-2 defeat. Some of the 42,000 Arema fans threw bottles and other objects at players and soccer officials. At least five police vehicles were toppled and set ablaze outside the stadium.

But most of the deaths occurred when riot police, trying to stop the violence, fired tear gas, including toward the spectator stands, triggering the disastrous crush of fans making a panicked, chaotic run for the exits. Most of the 125 people who died were trampled upon or suffocated.At least 17 children were among the dead and seven were being treated in hospitals, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection said. Police said 323 people overall were injured in the crush, some of them still in critical condition.National Police spokesperson Dedy Prasetyo said in a news conference that 18 officers responsible for firing tear gas, ranging from middle- to high-ranking, were being investigated along with “internal matters related to security management.”