A human stampede leaves at least 146 dead at a Halloween party in Seoul
According to the Associated Press, on Saturday night, emergency workers and pedestrians desperately performed CPR on people lying on the street after the crush in the capital’s entertainment district, Itaewon.
The Yongsan fire chief in Seoul said the death toll could rise further and an unknown number of injured are in critical condition.
An estimated 100,000 people have flocked to Itaewon for the country’s largest outdoor Halloween parties since the start of the pandemic.
It’s unclear what prompted the crowds to squeeze into the narrow, downhill alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in Seoul.
One survivor said many people fell to the ground, causing others to fall like dominoes. Moreover, as he recalls, they were trapped for an hour and a half before being rescued, while some asked for help and others gasped, according to the Seoul newspaper Hankyoreh.
In an interview with the YTN news channel, Hwang Min-hyeok, a visitor to Itaewon, said it was shocking to see rows of bodies near the hotel. He said rescuers were initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians rushing to administer CPR to the injured as they lay on the streets.
By firefighters, he said the bodies were being sent to hospitals or a gym, where bereaved relatives could identify them. She said most of the dead and injured were in their 20s, the Associated Press reported.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling on the authorities to ensure prompt treatment of the injured and to review the safety of the sites.
It is the deadliest disaster in South Korean history. In 2005, 11 people were killed and another 60 injured at a pop music concert in the southern city of Sangju.
