Halloween horror: 154 die in Seoul stampede

AFP

More than 150 people were killed in a stampede at a Halloween event in central Seoul, officials said yesterday, with South Korea's president vowing a full investigation into one of the country's worst disasters.

The crowd surge and crush hit in the capital's popular Itaewon District, where police estimate as many as 100,000 people – mostly in their teens and 20s – went to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, clogging the area's narrow alleyways and winding streets.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning yesterday, telling the country in a televised address that "a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened."

He said the government "will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future."

"My heart is heavy and it is difficult to contain my sorrow," he added, before he visited the scene of the disaster and spoke to emergency workers.

Eyewitnesses described being trapped in a narrow, sloping alleyway, and scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd as people piled on top of one another.

The interior ministry said that 154 people had died, including 26 foreigners, in the stampede, which occurred around 10pm. Most of the victims were young women in their 20s, it said, adding that 133 people were injured.

The Interior Ministry said most victims had now been identified.

"The high number of casualties was the result of many being trampled during the Halloween event," fire official Choi Seong-beom told reporters, adding that the death toll could climb.

Seoul authorities said they had also received 355 reports of missing people by early yesterday.

Officials said yesterday they had no clear idea of what caused the crush, while eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as a vast crowd panicked in a narrow alleyway.

Local shopkeepers said the number of people at the annual celebration was "unprecedentedly large" this year – the first event to be held without COVID-19 curbs since the pandemic began.

"There were so many people just being pushed around and I got caught in the crowd and I couldn't get out at first too," 30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul said.

As questions began to emerge over the lack of security at the event, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min told a briefing that the police force had been occupied on the other side of town.

"I am not certain about the exact number of police personnel deployed (to Itaewon) but a considerable number had been deployed at Gwanghwamun where a large crowd was expected for a protest," he said.

Police had also not expected such a large crowd at the Halloween event, he added.

Paramedics at the scene, quickly overwhelmed by the number of victims, were asking passers-by to administer first aid.

The 26 foreigners killed included victims from Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway, Yonhap reported.

The Chinese Embassy in Seoul confirmed on its official WeChat account that four Chinese citizens had died in the stampede.

US President Joe Biden, said America "stands with" South Korea after the tragedy , while Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was "hugely shocked and deeply saddened" by the disaster.