Hillsborough Tragedy 1989: All you need to know about the incident

April 15, 1989, ended with 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death and hundreds of others left injured.

Edited By: Sylvester Tamang

Updated: June 28, 2017, 5:16 PM IST

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Thousands of people gather outside Liverpool's Saint George's Hall as they attend a vigil for the 96 victims of the Hillsborough tragedy on April 27, 2016. (Getty Image)

Six people including two former senior police officers have been charged with criminal offences relating to the deaths of 96 people at the 1989 FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough football ground and the alleged police cover-up which followed.

For several years, police blamed fans for causing the crush as the FA Cup semi-final match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest got underway.

However last year, an inquest jury ruled that the victims had been unlawfully killed following failures by police and ambulance services.

What happened on Saturday, April 15th, 1989?

The semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest took place on Saturday 15 April, 1989.

The match was sold out, meaning more than 53,000 fans from the two sides would head for Hillsborough for the 15.00 (BST) kick-off.

April 15, 1989, ended with 96 Liverpool fans crushed to death and hundreds of others left injured and traumatised, after a series of fatal errors by those in charge of ensuring the safety of those attending the match.

Also read: Former police chief David Duckenfield faces 95 Hillsborough manslaughter charges

The disaster began with as hundreds of Liverpool fans began streaming towards towards the stadium and the Leppings Lane stand allocated to them.

The victims were smashed against metal anti-riot fences or trampled underfoot and many suffocated in the crush.

At the time, hooliganism was common, and there were immediate attempts to defend the police operation and assign blame to the Liverpool fans. A false narrative circulated that blamed ticketless and rowdy Liverpool fans — a narrative that their families have challenged for decades.

The 2016 inquest jury rejected the accusations and exonerated the fans, finding that there was no behaviour on their part which caused or contributed to the dangerous situation at the Leppings Lane turnstiles.

With inputs from agencies.