151 people were killed in a stampede that occurred during Halloween celebrations in South Korea, according to officials.
At least 82 people were injured in the incident, which took place in Itaewon, the capital, Seoul.
The region has witnessed the first Halloween celebrations without the obligation to wear a mask since the outbreak of the Corona outbreak.
Reports describe horrific scenes of people caught in the stampede. Investigations are still underway to find out the causes of the disaster.
After holding an emergency meeting, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol ordered the formation of a task force to help treat the wounded.
The president also declared a period of national mourning, describing the incident as a “disaster”.
photo released, Getty Images
“deeply sad”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron expressed their solidarity with the South Korean people.
The head of diplomacy of the European Union, Josep Borrell, said he was deeply saddened. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that the US will provide support to South Korea.
Halloween is generally not a big holiday in South Korea. But in light of Itaewon’s cultural character, the preparations were different.
There were many young men, some of them dressed in Halloween costumes, who went to parties and clubs.
The area plunged into chaos and people were left in a state of shock and pain as the emergency services were doing their job to treat the wounded and transport the dead.
Itaewon videos show body bags lying on the streets, emergency workers performing CPR, and rescuers trying to drag people trapped under others.
Jeon Ja-Yeol, 30, was in a bar when the stampede began.
“My girlfriend said, ‘Something terrible is happening outside.’ I said, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then I went out to see what was going on and there were people doing CPR on the street, “she told AFP.
Most of the victims were in their teens and 20s, said Choi Seong-beom, Yongsan fire chief in Seoul. Among the wounded, 19 people were seriously injured and another 57 were slightly injured.
He added that two foreign nationals were among the victims and 15 foreigners were injured.
The fire chief said the large number of casualties was the result of “running over many”.
One of the videos appears to show hundreds of people crammed into a narrow and steep street in the area. In another clip, rescuers try to get people out of what appears to be a pile of corpses. There were cries of anguish.
The bodies were sent to nearby gyms and hospitals.
A doctor who provided first aid at the scene said there were two victims when he started CPR, but “the number increased shortly thereafter.”
About 100,000 people are said to have been in the area on Saturday night.
Social media posts posted earlier in the evening showed some people pointing out that Itaewon was so crowded it looked dangerous.
One of the witnesses, Park Jong-hoon, told Reuters news agency that large crowds are used to Christmas celebrations and fireworks, but “this was 10 times bigger than all of this.”
A local reporter said an emergency broadcast was sent to every cell phone in Yongsan district urging people to return home as soon as possible due to an “emergency incident near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.”
