The incident took place when a large number of people fell down a narrow street during a Halloween event in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
The incident took place when a large number of people fell down a narrow street during a Halloween event in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
South Korean officials said at least 146 people were killed and 150 others injured after they were crushed by a large crowd on a narrow street during Halloween celebrations in Seoul’s capital.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise and an unspecified number of those injured were in critical condition.
He said 74 of the dead have been sent to hospitals, while the bodies of the remaining 46, kept on the streets, were being taken to a nearby gym so that workers could identify them.
Authorities say people were believed to have been crushed to death after a large crowd marched ahead in a narrow street near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in Seoul.
In Seoul, more than 800 emergency workers and police officers from across the country, including all available personnel, were deployed on the streets to treat the injured.
Rescuers and firefighters work at the site where dozens of people were injured in a stampede during Halloween celebrations in Seoul, South Korea, on October 29, 2022. photo credit: Reuters
The National Fire Agency said in a separate statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
In TV footage and photographs, ambulance vehicles can be seen standing on the roads and carrying the injured on stretchers amid heavy police force and emergency personnel. Emergency personnel and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying on the streets.
In one section, paramedics were seen checking the condition of a dozen or more people who were motionless under a blue blanket.
Police, which were restricting traffic in nearby areas to speed up transport of the injured to hospitals across the city, also confirmed that dozens of people were being given CPR on the streets of Itawan. The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued an emergency text message urging people in the area to return home quickly.
Some local media reports had earlier said that the crush happened when a large number of people thronged the Itawan bar after an unidentified personality had gone there.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling on officials to ensure speedy treatment of the injured and review the security of the festival sites. He also directed the Health Ministry to deploy disaster medical support teams and secure beds in the nearest hospital for the treatment of the injured.
Local media said nearly 100,000 people took to the streets of Itawan for Halloween celebrations since the start of the pandemic following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent months.