South Korea has declared a week of mourning after more than 150 people were killed in a stampede at Halloween celebrations in the nation’s capital, Seoul, last night – one of the country’s worst peacetime accidents.
Around 10:30 p.m., people began to ‘fall like dominoes’ during a tragic crush at the Halloween festival in Itaewon, where 100,000 people had gathered in tiny alleyways.
Several more reportedly experienced heart arrests, and the current death toll stands at 153, including at least 19 foreign nationals, with the majority of deaths being women in their 20s.
After visiting the site earlier today, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a week of national mourning and stated that the fatal stampede’should not have occurred’.
“In the heart of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster that should not have occurred occurred,” Yoon said in a national speech, pledging to “thoroughly investigate” the situation and guarantee it never occurs again.
According to reports from last night, several revelers continued to party in the neighborhood after the crush, despite the police’s desperate requests for them to leave.
The fire department requested the suspension of the Halloween festivities at 11:19 p.m., over an hour after the initial complaint of a crowd crush.
Late into the night, however, partygoers continued to drink and enjoy the Halloween event. The Hankyoreh said that costumed revelers were busy taking pictures in the alleys near the accident site, and that most bars were packed.
Crowds reportedly prevented an ambulance from reaching the accident site, while police were heard using a loudspeaker to say, “Please go home.” This is what aids us. Please disperse.
The streets were so crowded that paramedics were obliged to ask pedestrians to administer CPR since emergency workers were unable to reach or treat the vast number of patients swiftly.
Most of the victims died of cardiac arrest as a consequence of asphyxiation caused by being squished beneath other bodies, according to emergency personnel and doctors who later treated them in hospitals.
One witness told the Hankook Ilbo that the streets were a picture of “complete anarchy,” stating, “After some individuals slipped and fell, others fell like dominoes, and no one appeared to be able to crawl away.”
In one of South Korea’s biggest disasters and the world’s deadliest stampedes in decades, President Yoon extended condolences to the victims, who were primarily teens and individuals in their 20s, and wished a swift recovery to the many injured.
He stated in a statement, “This is truly awful.” Last night, a catastrophe and disaster that should not have occurred occurred in the heart of Seoul. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated, “In accordance with the president’s direction, the government has chosen to observe a period of national mourning until the stroke of midnight on November 5.”
He stated that a joint altar for the victims will be erected at an undetermined place in Seoul.
During the period, all government offices and diplomatic posts abroad will fly their flags at half-staff and cancel or postpone non-essential public events.
Officials indicated that civil servants and employees of public institutions will wear ribbons to show their sorrow.
According to local emergency personnel, the majority of the victims were youths or young adults in their teens or early twenties. Due to the overwhelming number of deaths, a makeshift morgue was put up in a nearby building.
Officials stated that it was thought that victims were crushed to death after a large throng began pushing forward in a tiny alley outside Hamilton Hotel, a popular Seoul party venue, after hearing rumors that a celebrity was close.
On the streets of Itaewon, dozens of patients received CPR, while many others were sent to nearby hospitals.
One witness described the severity of the crush, stating, “People were piled on top of one another like a tomb.” Some were progressively losing consciousness, while others appeared to be dead at that time.
Images and videos on social media depict horrifying images of fear in the aftermath of the crush and people’s desperate attempts to leave the tragic building.
A particularly harrowing footage depicted dozens of individuals battling to breathe and stay on their feet in the crowd as rescuers worked to remove those most in need of medical care.
More than 1,700 South Korean emergency personnel were dispatched to one of the bloodiest crowd crushes in recent history. Additional footage overlooking the street showed hundreds of rescue personnel doing CPR to victims who were sprawled on the roadway.
A man was depicted climbing a nearly horizontal wall high above the crowd to escape the chaos below.
Social media videos depicted scores of unmoving bodies lying on the ground in the aftermath of the incident, surrounded by dozens of emergency personnel and members of the general public.
The majority of the figures receiving CPR are believed to have suffered cardiac arrests.
The fatal tragedy occurred as the crowded mob rushed into a tiny alley.
Social media footage depicted hundreds of people squashed and motionless in the sloping alley as emergency personnel and police attempted to extricate them.
A Reuters witness reported that a makeshift mortuary was set up in a nearby building. According to the witness, approximately four dozen bodies were transported on wheeled stretchers to a government facility for identification.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan fire station in Seoul, stated that the death toll could grow as emergency workers continued to carry the injured to hospitals across the city following the Saturday night stampede in the Itaewon entertainment district.
In addition to the 1,700 emergency responders, 15 ‘disaster’ medical teams from across South Korea were mobilized to assist in the aftermath of the crush.
However, rescue personnel were originally so stretched and overloaded that dozens of bystanders and witnesses attempted to aid the injured and dying.
According to local media reports, Seoul has established a registry for anyone seeking information about loved ones.
South Korea has proclaimed a week of mourning after more than 150 people were killed in a stampede at Halloween celebrations in the nation’s capital, Seoul, last night – one of the country’s deadliest peacetime incidents.
Around 10:30 p.m., people began to ‘fall like dominoes’ during a tragic crush at the Halloween festival in Itaewon, where 100,000 people had gathered in tiny alleyways.
Several more reportedly experienced heart arrests, and the current death toll stands at 153, including at least 19 foreign nationals, with the majority of deaths being women in their 20s.
After visiting the site earlier today, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a week of national mourning and stated that the fatal stampede’should not have occurred’.
“In the heart of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster that should not have occurred occurred,” Yoon said in a national speech, pledging to “thoroughly investigate” the situation and guarantee it never occurs again.
According to reports from last night, several revelers continued to party in the neighborhood after the crush, despite the police’s desperate requests for them to leave.
The fire department requested the suspension of the Halloween festivities at 11:19 p.m., over an hour after the initial complaint of a crowd crush.
Late into the night, however, partygoers continued to drink and enjoy the Halloween event. The Hankyoreh said that costumed revelers were busy taking pictures in the alleys near the accident site, and that most bars were packed.
Crowds reportedly prevented an ambulance from reaching the accident site, while police were heard using a loudspeaker to say, “Please go home.” This is what aids us. Please disperse.
The streets were so crowded that paramedics were obliged to ask pedestrians to administer CPR since emergency workers were unable to reach or treat the vast number of patients swiftly.
Most of the victims died of cardiac arrest as a consequence of asphyxiation caused by being squished beneath other bodies, according to emergency personnel and doctors who later treated them in hospitals.
One witness told the Hankook Ilbo that the streets were a picture of “complete anarchy,” stating, “After some individuals slipped and fell, others fell like dominoes, and no one appeared to be able to crawl away.”
In one of South Korea’s biggest disasters and the world’s deadliest stampedes in decades, President Yoon extended condolences to the victims, who were primarily teens and individuals in their 20s, and wished a swift recovery to the many injured.
He stated in a statement, “This is truly awful.” Last night, a catastrophe and disaster that should not have occurred occurred in the heart of Seoul. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated, “In accordance with the president’s direction, the government has chosen to observe a period of national mourning until the stroke of midnight on November 5.”
He stated that a joint altar for the victims will be erected at an undetermined place in Seoul.
During the period, all government offices and diplomatic posts abroad will fly their flags at half-staff and cancel or postpone non-essential public events.
Officials indicated that civil servants and employees of public institutions will wear ribbons to show their sorrow.
According to local emergency personnel, the majority of the victims were youths or young adults in their teens or early twenties. Due to the overwhelming number of deaths, a makeshift morgue was put up in a nearby building.
Officials stated that it was thought that victims were crushed to death after a large throng began pushing forward in a tiny alley outside Hamilton Hotel, a popular Seoul party venue, after hearing rumors that a celebrity was close.
On the streets of Itaewon, dozens of patients received CPR, while many others were sent to nearby hospitals.
One witness described the severity of the crush, stating, “People were piled on top of one another like a tomb.” Some were progressively losing consciousness, while others appeared to be dead at that time.
Images and videos on social media depict horrifying images of fear in the aftermath of the crush and people’s desperate attempts to leave the tragic building.
A particularly harrowing footage depicted dozens of individuals battling to breathe and stay on their feet in the crowd as rescuers worked to remove those most in need of medical care.
More than 1,700 South Korean emergency personnel were dispatched to one of the bloodiest crowd crushes in recent history. Additional footage overlooking the street showed hundreds of rescue personnel doing CPR to victims who were sprawled on the roadway.
A man was depicted climbing a nearly horizontal wall high above the crowd to escape the chaos below.
Social media videos depicted scores of unmoving bodies lying on the ground in the aftermath of the incident, surrounded by dozens of emergency personnel and members of the general public.
The majority of the figures receiving CPR are believed to have suffered cardiac arrests.
The fatal tragedy occurred as the crowded mob rushed into a tiny alley.
Social media footage depicted hundreds of people squashed and motionless in the sloping alley as emergency personnel and police attempted to extricate them.
A Reuters witness reported that a makeshift mortuary was set up in a nearby building. According to the witness, approximately four dozen bodies were transported on wheeled stretchers to a government facility for identification.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan fire station in Seoul, stated that the death toll could grow as emergency workers continued to carry the injured to hospitals across the city following the Saturday night stampede in the Itaewon entertainment district.
In addition to the 1,700 emergency responders, 15 ‘disaster’ medical teams from across South Korea were mobilized to assist in the aftermath of the crush.
However, rescue personnel were originally so stretched and overloaded that dozens of bystanders and witnesses attempted to aid the injured and dying.
According to local media reports, Seoul has established a registry for anyone seeking information about loved ones.