Halloween disaster in Seoul, South Korea: 146 dead in crowd stampede

Seoul, South Korea: During Halloween celebrations in the nation's capital of Seoul, authorities in South Korea reported at least 146 fatalities and 150 injuries as a result of people being pushed forward by a massive crowd.

The stampede that occurred in the Itaewon leisure district on Saturday night may result in more deaths, according to Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul's Yongsan fire station, while an unidentified number of the injured are in critical condition.

According to him, of the dead, 74 have been taken to hospitals, and the remaining 46, whose remains had been left on the streets, are being taken to a local gym so that workers can identify them.

According to authorities, a large crowd started pushing forward in a small alleyway close to the Hamilton Hotel, a popular gathering place for partygoers in Seoul, which resulted in the stampede and deaths.

In order to treat the injured, more than 800 emergency personnel and police officers from all around the country, including all of Seoul's staff, were dispatched to the streets, Associated Press reported.

The precise number of emergency patients is still being calculated, according to a separate statement from the National Fire Agency.

TV footage and pictures displayed a heavy police presence, a line-up of ambulances, and emergency personnel escorting the injured on stretchers. People laying in the streets were spotted receiving CPR from both emergency personnel and pedestrians.

In one area, paramedics could be seen checking on a dozen or more patients who were motionless and covered in blue blankets.

Numerous individuals were receiving CPR on Itaewon streets, according to police, who were blocking traffic in the area to speed the transportation of the injured to hospitals all across the city. Emergency text messages were sent out by the Seoul Metropolitan Government requesting that locals hasten back home.

According to prior reports in the local media, a lot of people allegedly flocked to an Itaewon pub after hearing that a celebrity who cannot be named had come there.

In a statement, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged officials to guarantee that individuals who were injured received prompt medical attention and to assess the festival locations' safety. Additionally, he gave the Health Ministry instructions to promptly dispatch teams of medical professionals for disaster relief and reserve beds in a neighbouring hospital for the injured.

Following the recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, local media reported that some 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the largest Halloween celebrations since the pandemic began.