It was time for smiles all over around when a mass of mostly young people celebrating Halloween in Seoul became trapped and crushed as the crowd surged into a narrow alley, killing at least 153 people and injuring 133 others in South Korea's worst disaster in years.
Emergency workers and pedestrians desperately performed CPR on people lying in the streets after they got crushed in the capital's leisure district of Itaewon on Saturday night.
Those killed or hurt were mostly teens and people in their 20s, according to Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul's Yongsan fire department. The dead included at least foreigners, the Ministry of the Interior said, whose nationalities weren't immediately released. The death toll could rise further as some of those injured were in critical condition.
An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country's biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began. The South Korean government eased COVID-19 restrictions in recent months. Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of U.S. military forces in South Korea operated before moving out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district known for its trendy bars, clubs and restaurants.
It was not immediately clear what led the crowd to surge into the narrow downhill alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul. One survivor said many people fell and toppled one another "like dominos" after they were being pushed by others.
The survivor named Kim said they were trapped for about an hour and a half before being rescued, as some people shouted "Help me!" and others were short of breath, according to the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.
Another survivor, named Lee Chang-kyu, said he saw about five to six men start pushing others before one or two began falling one by one at the start of the stampede, according to the newspaper
The stampede is the biggest disaster since 304 people, mostly high school students, died in a ferry sinking in April 2014. The sinking exposed lax safety rules and regulatory failures as it was partially blamed on excessive and poorly fastened cargo and a crew poorly trained for emergency situations. Friday's stampede will likely cause public criticism of government officials over what they've done to improve public safety standards since the ferry disaster.
TV footage and photos showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers. Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets. In one section, paramedics were seen checking the status of a dozen or more people who lay motionless under blue blankets.
Answer - Almost 153 people were killed in Seoul during a horrifying stampede at the Halloween Celebrations.
Answer - At present, the death toll is estimated to be around 153.
Answer - Stay connected with the local real-time news for Halloween Horror in Seoul. Visit our website for more detailed information.
Answer - More than 150 people have died in a crowd crush while celebrating Halloween in one of Seoul's most popular nightlife districts.
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