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VICTOR COLINDRES / AP
Firefighters carry a wounded bearer inside the Tegucigalpa National Stadium in Honduras.
Three people were killed and several injured – including players – during a riot between soccer fans in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.
Violence erupted inside and near the city's national stadium in anticipation of a scheduled match between the clubs of Olimpia and Motagua on Sunday (NZT).
The riots began when Olimpia supporters attacked the Motagua team bus with stones and sticks, reported CNN.
Olimpia and Motagua are the two most successful football teams in Honduras and their rivalry is considered the biggest in the country.
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"Bottles and stones were thrown at us and the players flung themselves to the ground screaming," Motagua coach Diego Vásquez told Honduran media.
Emilio Izaguirre, Jonathan Rougier and Roberto Moreira, three players from Motagua, were injured by shards of broken glass.
VICTOR COLINDRES / AP
Football fans hit by police fired tear gas are being helped by Red Cross members after the outbreak of a deadly fight between Motagua and Olimpia supporters.
They were then transferred to the hospital to receive medical assistance, according to the team's social media.
The Honduras National Football League has canceled the match, which should be played in front of 20,000 spectators.
"It must be severely punished by the corresponding authorities," wrote the Motagua club on Twitter.
"Reprehensible and lamentable."
VICTOR COLINDRES / AP
Police watch football fans gather on the ground to escape tear gas before the match between Motagua and Olimpia begins.
President of Olympia, Rafael Villeda, told the Honduran media that the violence was "unfortunate".
Escuela Universitario Hospital has confirmed that many supporters have been injured and three have died.
"Three people have died and seven have been shot and stabbed, one of them is a boy, three of the wounded adults are in critical condition," said a spokesman.
The Honduran National Police said that fans of rival teams were mourning as a result of the bus attack. Tear gas was used by the police.
About 10,000 spectators were moved by police to the center of the field as part of a police emergency procedure.
The riots were not the first time that violence broke out between fans of Motagua and Olimpia. In 2009, a fight between supporters left two dead and more than 15 wounded. In 2016, another confrontation caused a death.
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