Halloween horror as 140 die in Seoul street crush
Mostly young victims caught in stampede in alley in nightlife district
A STAMPEDE at a packed Halloween party left more than 140 dead and more than 100 injured in a crush in a narrow alley in South Korean capital Seoul last night.
The victims, mostly young people, were in a crowd of thousands in the Itaewon nightlife district who rushed through an alley towards a bar after hearing rumours that an unidentified celebrity was inside.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll was expected to rise as emergency workers were still transporting the injured, many of whom were trampled, to hospitals across South Korea’s capital.
He said 74 of the dead had been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining victims were being taken to a nearby gym so they could be identified.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes moments before the stampede, with police having trouble controlling the crowds.
Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloping alley being crushed and then lying immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them free.
Foreigners were believed to be among the dead and injured. One woman heard on a social media post cries out in English: ‘Oh my God, oh my God, Jesus **** ing Christ.’
Other footage showed chaotic scenes of fire officials and citizens treating dozens of people who appeared to be unconscious. A witness said a makeshift morgue was set up in a building adjacent to the scene.
More than two dozen bodies were carried out on stretchers. Later, it was reported the death toll had risen to 146 as hospitals battled to save the casualties.
There were reportedly 100,000 revellers, mostly young, in the area celebrating the first outdoor nomask Halloween event in Seoul since the start of the pandemic.
The horror began after the crowd began pushing forward near Hamilton hotel, a major party spot in the capital. Photographs at the scene showed a long line of body bags in the streets, still thronged with shocked onlookers.
KBS, South Korea’s national broadcaster, reported that more than 150 had been injured while Yonhap news agency said scores of young people, including many women in their 20s, had been taken to hospital.
More than 400 emergency workers from across the country, including all available personnel in Seoul, were swiftly deployed to the scene.
A final death toll may take time to compile, officials said. In South Korea, medical staff often say only that someone is in ‘cardiac arrest’ until there is an official confirmation of death by a hospital doctor.
Video footage aired on social media showed desperate scenes in the aftermath of the stampede, with first responders administering heart massage and mouth-tomouth resuscitation on dozens of people.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling for officials to ensure swift treatment of the injured.
Social media messages posted earlier in the evening show some remarking that the Itaewon neighbourhood had been so crowded that it felt unsafe.