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Scenes of chaos and panic unfolded in the South Korean capital, Seoul, on Saturday, as a massive stampede killed 151 people and injured dozens more at the city’s first Halloween event in three years.The event took place in Seoul Party-goers in Itaewon district wear masks and Halloween costumes flood a narrow alley in Seoul’s nightlife district.
A video posted on Twitter by local media company allkpop, which mostly covers K-pop or K-pop news, captured grim footage from the scene of the incident. Footage shows people lying unconscious on the road as rescue/fire crews perform CPR (CPR) on their chests, seemingly trying to treat/rehabilitate them. Some people went into cardiac arrest following the incident, reports say. Also read | ‘100,000 people in a 4-meter-wide alley’: How the stampede in South Korea happened
Some unverified videos showed police trying to control a large crowd inside the hutong, while another showed a man trying to escape the chaos that erupted in the middle of a crowded road by climbing a wall. The Hindustan Times could not independently verify the authenticity of the videos.
Some witnesses said the crowd became increasingly unruly and agitated as night deepened. Moon Ju-young, 21, was quoted as telling Reuters that there were clear signs of trouble in the alley before the incident. “It’s at least 10 times more crowded than usual here,” he said.
The Halloween event is the first to begin in three years after the country lifted Covid-19 restrictions and eased social distancing norms.
In South Korea’s worst disaster in years, as many as 150 people were injured and an estimated 100,000 people gathered for the celebrations, news agency The Associated Press reported. Most of the victims were in their 20s and officials feared the death toll could rise further, local media Yonhap news agency quoted authorities as saying. South Korea’s fire department told AFP that 19 foreigners were among the dead.
Footage from the scene in the morning showed the alley was full of chaos and only the police were present.
This is the second major stampede in Asia in a month. Earlier this month, Indonesian police fired tear gas at a football match, killing 132 people, leading to a stampede as spectators tried to flee.
(with institutional input)
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