During Halloween celebrations in the nation’s capital of Seoul, at least 146 people were murdered and 150 more were wounded when they were trampled by a big throng surging forward on a small roadway, according to South Korean authorities.
Following the stampede in Itaewon on Saturday night, Choi Seong-beom, head of Seoul’s Yongsan fire station, warned the dead toll might increase and that an undisclosed number of the wounded were in serious condition.
According to authorities, a big throng started pressing forward in a small alleyway next to the Hamilton Hotel, a popular gathering place for revelers in Seoul.
In order to treat the wounded, more than 800 emergency professionals and police officers from all around the country, including all of Seoul’s staff, were sent to the streets.
The precise number of emergency patients is still being calculated, according to a second statement from the National Fire Agency.
A significant police presence could be seen at the site, where ambulances were queued up in the streets, and emergency personnel were transferring the wounded on stretchers. People laying on the streets were spotted receiving CPR from both emergency personnel and passersby.
In one area, paramedics could be seen checking on a dozen or more patients who were immobile and covered in blue blankets.
Numerous individuals were receiving CPR on Itaewon streets, according to police, who were blocking traffic in the area to expedite the delivery of the wounded to hospitals around the city. Emergency text messages were sent out by the Seoul Metropolitan Government requesting that locals get back home.
A stampede reportedly took place on the streets of Itaewon where a multitude of people had gathered for Halloween celebrations, according to a local police official. The officer said the incident’s specifics were still being investigated and that he wished to remain anonymous.
According to prior reports in the local media, a lot of people allegedly flocked to an Itaewon pub after hearing that a famous person who cannot be named had come there.
In a statement, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged authorities to guarantee that individuals who were hurt received prompt medical attention and to assess the festival locations’ security.
Additionally, he gave the Health Ministry instructions to promptly dispatch teams of medical professionals for disaster relief and reserve beds in a neighboring hospital for the wounded.
Following the recent lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, local media reported that some 100,000 people descended into Itaewon streets for the largest Halloween celebrations since the pandemic’s inception.