Overview of events and locations in the hours after the disaster

Once they were rescued from the crush on the West Terrace, injured supporters were taken to a range of locations including the gymnasium at the stadium, which was designated as both the place for medical treatment and the temporary mortuary on site, and to Sheffield’s two major hospitals, the Northern General and the Royal Hallamshire.
Within minutes, it was apparent that some of those being carried to the gymnasium had died. From about 3.15pm, the gymnasium became both a casualty clearing point and the temporary mortuary, with the injured being treated in a separate area of the main hall. Those who were pronounced dead by medical professionals on the pitch were also taken to the gymnasium. They remained there until they were identified.
At about 6.45pm, Dr Popper attended the gymnasium and agreed a formal identification process with Detective Chief Superintendent Terence Addis (D Ch Supt Addis), the head of CID at SYP. As part of this process, Dr Popper instructed that all those who had died in hospital must be transferred back to the gymnasium for identification.
By about 9.15pm, 93 of those who had died were at the gymnasium ready for the formal identifications to begin. This commenced about 9.30pm. Just after 10pm, the 94th of those who died on the day was brought to the gymnasium from the Northern General.
Under the agreed process, a photograph was taken of the face of each of those who had died. These photographs were taken using Polaroid cameras so that they could be printed instantly. They were then displayed on boards. In small groups, the family members and friends completing the identification were brought into the gymnasium to look at the boards and asked if they could see their loved one. When they recognised them, the photograph was removed from the board, and the corresponding body was brought by police officers into a small, curtained area for viewing; the family members and friends had to then confirm the identity of their loved one.
The family members and friends were then taken to a different area of the gymnasium where they gave police officers a formal identification statement. It was during this point that some have said they were asked about their or their loved one’s alcohol consumption.
Once a friend or family member had formally identified their loved one, the body was taken by ambulance to the MLC, which was the city mortuary in Sheffield, for a post-mortem examination. By early next morning, the majority of those who died had been identified and transferred to the MLC. A decision was made that anyone who had yet to be identified would also be taken to the MLC and identified there.
A police officer was assigned to stay with each of those who had died for the whole time, in line with a process known as ‘body continuity’. The officer could then confirm that it was the same individual the family had identified, and that there had been no unauthorised contact with them. At the MLC, the officer formally handed responsibility for that individual to the officers on duty there.
By 6.30am on 16 April 1989 the operation inside the gymnasium was closed down. Later that day, post-mortem examinations began at the MLC in line with Dr Popper’s instructions. They were concluded by 2pm on 17 April 1989.
Throughout this period, the situation was both distressing and extremely confusing for friends and family members. Some groups who had travelled to the match together did not have tickets for the same section of the ground, while many of those who did have tickets for the same area had become separated, whether during the crush at the turnstiles on entering the ground, during the crush on the West Terrace, or following their escape from the pens. While some were later reunited on the pitch or on their return to their pre-arranged meeting points, others were frantically searching for their companions and trying to obtain information. Mobile phones were not widely available at the time, so friends and family members had to rely on snippets of information they could get from others—including police officers on duty at the stadium—about where casualties may have been taken.
When this failed, the next course of action was to head to the nearest police station, Hammerton Road, to report their loved ones missing. Some then went to the hospitals, going from one to the other in the hope of finding information.
Many of those who had not been at the match attempted to contact SYP and Merseyside Police by phone, using dedicated Casualty Bureau numbers that were broadcast on TV and radio. However, the sheer number of calls meant that it was difficult to get through and speak to anyone; when calls were answered, the call handlers had little information to give. Many families then made the decision to travel to Sheffield, again trying hospitals but in many cases ending up anxiously waiting for information in various locations around the city that had been hurriedly transformed into reception centres. Those who had been at the game also gravitated to these same locations, typically deeply traumatised by their experiences that day. A large number of social workers, members of the church and other volunteers accompanied and supported the families and friends at those locations.
The main reception centre was at Hillsborough Boys’ Club, a youth club close to Hammerton Road Police Station, which had limited facilities and offered little or no privacy. While there was some support available for the families and friends, the thing they wanted most—information on their loved ones—was in short supply. In some cases, when information did come through, it proved to be inaccurate.
Once the identification process had been determined, families were taken by bus to the gymnasium to identify their loved ones. For many, this involved a long wait outside the gymnasium before they were even allowed in, as the numbers of those inside were carefully controlled. Others simply had to wait in a state of increasing apprehension at the reception centres for the next bus.