At least 151 people, mostly women and young people in their 20s, have been killed in a chaotic stampede in South Korea’s capital, Seoul, after a huge crowd thronged a narrow street during Halloween celebrations.
According to international media reports, further 82 were hurt, 19 of them seriously, in the crowd crush that took place in the entertainment district of Itaewon on Saturday night, officials said.
The incident happened at about 10:00pm local time (13:00GMT) when large numbers of people flooded a narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel.
“The high number of casualties was the result of many being trampled during the Halloween event,” fire official Choi Seong-beom told reporters at the scene on Sunday morning, adding that the death toll could climb.
Many of the victims were women and young people in their 20s, he said.
Nineteen foreigners were also killed, he said. They included people from Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes moments before the stampede, with the police on hand in anticipation of the Halloween event at times having trouble maintaining control of the crowds. Some were trapped for more than an hour before being pulled from the crush of people in the alley.
“There were so many people just being pushed around and I got caught in the crowd and I couldn’t get out at first too,” 30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul told the AFP news agency. “I felt like an accident was bound to happen.”
Police confirmed dozens of people were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the streets, while others were taken to nearby hospitals.
At least 151 killed in Halloween crowd crush in South Korea
