Video: Twenty-seven years later, we finally know how 96 people died at a football game
On April 15, 1989, a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest took a deadly toll on fans.
It was a verdict which was long delayed, but finally brought some closure. On April 15, 1989, one of football's worst disasters occurred when 96 people were killed and 766 were injured in a deadly crush at a football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield.
It was a catastrophic failure on the part of the police but for over two decades, they were never blamed. The original inquest said the fatalities were accidental deaths. The victims themselves were blamed of hooliganism, being drunk and disorderly conduct.
But finally the Hillsborough Independent Panel concluded in 2012 that Liverpool fans were not responsible for the disaster and pinned the blame on the authorities for trying to conceal what happened. Eventually, a new inquest declared a verdict on Tuesday, absolving the supporters of any blame and stating that the fatalities occurred owing to deficiencies in policing.
What exactly happened is clear from the documentary in the video above. Entry to one end of the stadium, the Leippings Lane end, was only through one of seven decrepit turnstiles. Thousands of fans had gathered and, to ease overcrowding, the police opened an exit gate which led, through Standing tunnel, to two enclosures that were already full to capacity. The tunnel was unmanned and in the chaos and confusion, 96 people died.
The Guardian also ran a detailed documentary, piercing together the ways in which the authorities had tried to deflect blame. Memories of that tragedy remain fresh in the survivors' minds, but this verdict at least uncovers the truth.
