At least 12 dead in stampede at El Salvador football stadium

At least 12 people died and an unspecified number were injured in a stampede at a football stadium in El Salvador, the Central American government tweeted.

On Saturday night, the Alianza F.C. and Club Deportivo FAS teams were playing a quarter-final game at the Cuscatlan stadium in San Salvador, the capital.

Play was suspended after a stampede broke out in the general section of the stadium, a venue with a capacity for more than 44,000 fans.

"The Salvadoran Football Federation deeply regrets the events that occurred at the Cuscatlan Stadium," the organisation wrote on Twitter. "It also expresses solidarity with the relatives of those affected and deceased in this incident."

The tweet added the organisation would immediately request a report on the incident.