Brussels: Family members and fans gathered at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels on Friday in a solemn and emotional tribute to the 39 football fans who died in the disaster there 30 years ago.

Wreaths were laid and balloons released into the air in memory of those who perished in a crush ahead of the European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool on May 29, 1985. A deadly cocktail of drunken Liverpool fans on the rampage, bad policing and a dilapidated stadium led to the deaths of the 39 mostly Juventus supporters after a wall collapsed on them.