Hillsborough Disaster 25 Years Later

A 2009 tribute to fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 (Getty Images | Christopher Furlong)

Twenty-five years ago this week, 96 people were killed at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England, in a massive human crush. Six minutes into the 1989 FA Cup semi-final match, officials stopped the game after realizing that people were being crushed against a barrier in a section of the stadium set aside for Liverpool fans to stand.

The official inquiry in 1990 found the crush was caused by improper police control over the entrance to the stadium, allowing in far too many people and creating an unsafe situation and ultimately creating the conditions that led to the deaths of so many.

In Liverpool, friends, family and fellow fans are marking the 25th anniversary of the tragedy as the rest of England looks again at how it happened and how future tragedies may be prevented. Read more about the history of the Hillsborough disaster and its aftermath at the BBC, The Guardian and The Telegraph.