Highlight
- At least 59 people have died as crowds rise in Seoul’s Halloween panic
- Officials said emergency officials had received at least 81 calls from people with breathing difficulties.
- 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles deployed on roads from across the country
South Korea: At least 50 people have been killed and more than 150 injured after a massive stampede at Halloween parties in Itaewon, Seoul, officials said.
South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said emergency officials had received at least 81 calls from people with breathing difficulties.
Choi Cheon-sik, a National Fire Agency official, said earlier that about 100 people were injured during Saturday night’s rush in the Itaewon holiday district, and about 50 were being treated for heart failure as of early Sunday.
Choi said people were believed to have been crushed to death after a large crowd passed on a narrow street near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in Seoul.
He said more than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from across the country, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed on the roads to treat the injured.
Officials did not immediately release the death toll, as they usually do not until deaths are confirmed in hospitals. The National Fire Agency said in a separate statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
In TV footage and photographs from the scene, ambulance vehicles were parked on the roads amid heavy police presence and emergency workers carrying the injured on stretchers. Emergency personnel and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying on the streets. Several people, apparently among the injured, were seen covered in yellow blankets.
Police also confirmed that dozens of people are being given CPR on the streets of Etawah while many others have been taken to nearby hospitals.
A local police officer said they were also told that a stampede broke out on the streets of Itawan, where crowds gathered for Halloween celebrations. The official, requesting anonymity, said the details of the incident were still under investigation.
Some local media reports had earlier said that the crush happened when a large number of people thronged the Itawan bar after an unidentified personality had gone there.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling on officials to ensure speedy treatment of the injured and review the security of the festival sites. He also directed the Health Ministry to deploy disaster medical support teams and secure beds in the nearest hospital for the treatment of the injured.
Local media said about 100,000 people took to the streets of Itawan for Halloween celebrations, the largest in years since the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in recent months.
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