Hillsborough families send condolences
Families of football fans killed in the Hillsborough disaster will send a message of condolence to the relatives of those involved in the South African soccer tragedy.
At least 43 football fans, two of them children, were killed following a stampede at a reportedly overcrowded stadium in the South African capital Johannesburg.
According to reports a further 89 fans were injured - nine of them critically - as chaos broke out during a derby match between the Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.
It is almost 12 years since 96 Liverpool supporters were similarly crushed to death at an FA Cup semi final in Sheffield.
Trevor Hicks, whose two teenage daughters lost their lives on the Leppings Lane terrace, revealed television pictures brought bad memories flashing back.
The chairman of the Hillsborough Family Support Group said: "I saw the coverage on television. I went through a mixture of emotions, being totally gutted in terms of emotion and angry that something so terrible could happen again," he said.
"The pictures were those of Hillsborough all over again. It is just unbelievable, it really is. It brings it all flashing back.
"We can't help but feel empathy with the families in South Africa who must be suffering as we did."
Hicks said it was poignant that the latest soccer disaster happened just a few days before Hillsborough families and survivors mark the 12th anniversary of the 1989 Sheffield tragedy.
"A lot of members of the Hillsborough Family Support Group will be grieving. I will be trying to contact the South African embassy.
"Obviously we will be sending a message of condolence to the families of those who have died and those who do not know if there loved ones are coming back. Some appear to be very seriously injured.
"We will do all we can to help. It is so reminiscent of Hillsborough it is untrue. We had always feared this and said it would happen again one day."
Hicks said the stampede was a bleak reminder that there should be "no tinkering around" with all-seater stadiums in Britain.
"There are a few people trying to impose their will on the rest of us. There must be no going back. We should all be moving in the same direction to make football ground even safer."
Referring to British sports minister Kate Hoey, who said she would consider the return of standing areas in Premiership grounds, Hicks said: "I think she should shut up or put up.
"The Government should come out with an unequivocal promise that there will never be a winding back of safety standards including the return of terraces."
