During Halloween celebrations in the nation’s capital of Seoul, at least 146 people were murdered and 150 more were hurt when they were trampled by a big crowd surging forward on a small roadway, according to South Korean officials.
Following the stampede in the Itaewon entertainment district on Saturday night, Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire station, warned that the dead toll could increase and that an unidentified number of the injured were in critical condition (local time).
He earlier said 74 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 who had been kept on the streets were being transported to a nearby gym so that workers could 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 revellers in Seoul.
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.
The precise number of emergency patients is still being calculated, according to a second statement from the National Fire Agency.
TV footage and pictures displayed a dense 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 passersby.
In one area, paramedics could be seen assessing the condition of a dozen or more patients who were lifeless 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 injured to hospitals throughout the city.
Emergency text messages were sent out by the Seoul Metropolitan Government requesting that locals hurry back home.
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.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling for officials to ensure swift treatment for those injured and review the safety of the festivity sites.
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.
According to local media, over 100,000 individuals descended on Itaewon streets for the Halloween celebrations, which were the largest since the pandemic’s inception because to the recent relaxation of Covid-19 regulations.
146 people have died in South Korea during the Halloween crowd surge.
About Author
