At least 149 people died in a Halloween stampede in the South Korean capital of Seoul.
According to Reuters, a large crowd of partygoers, mostly teenagers and young adults in their 20s, gathered in a nightlife area in Seoul on Saturday night to celebrate Halloween.
“It was at least more than 10 times crowded than usual,” one witness, 21-year-old Moon Ju-young said.
In videos and photos shared on the internet, hundreds if not thousands of people could be seen cramped into the narrow alley in the moments leading to the stampede.
According to numerous witnesses, the crowd grew increasingly unruly and irritated as more and more people arrived in the area to party after years of strict Covid restrictions.
At around 10:20 pm, the crowd broke into a stampede and dozens of people were trampled to death while countless more were injured.
Early estimations suggest that at least 149 people died after falling and getting stepped on by fellow partygoers. An additional 65 or more suffered minor or severe injuries.
“A number of people fell during a Halloween festival, and we have a large number of casualties,” Choi Sung-beom, the Yongsan Fire Station chief, said.
As fire officials and witnesses confirmed, the alley famous for nightlife was heavily packed with people who were stuffed from wall to wall with nowhere to retreat.
After some people on top of the sloped part of the street fell, they sent others below them tumbling and panic erupted.
“You would see big crowds at Christmas and fireworks … but this was several ten-folds bigger than any of that,” 21-year-old Park Jung-hoon told Reuters.
Our thoughts remain with the victims’ families and friends during this tragic time.
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