SEOUL: At least 59 people died and 150 were injured in a stampede in Seoul as a huge crowd poured into a central district of the South Korean capital for Halloween festivities late on Saturday (Oct 29), the Yonhap news agency reported.
The incident took place at about 10:20pm (1320 GMT). Officials say it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
The death toll could rise as emergency workers were continuing to transport the injured to hospitals across Seoul, said Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station.
He added that 13 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 were still on the streets.
“The area is still chaotic so we are still trying to figure out the exact number of people injured,” Moon Hyun-joo, an official at the National Fire Agency said.
More than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.
The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
Itaewon is a popular destination for people celebrating Halloween in the South Korean capital, and the incident apparently occurred as the result of a crush resulting from the size of the crowd.
Source: CNA
