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Halloween Celebrations End In Tragedy, 151 Crushed To Death

Published

2 years ago

October 30, 2022

What was supposed to be a joyous Halloween celebration has cost the lives of about 151 people, and in its wake, a mourning of national scale.

The dead are mostly teenagers and young adults in a tragedy that happened Seoul, South Korea’s capital.

Reports say, a crush happened when a huge crowd thronged a narrow street during Halloween celebrations.

The incident happened in of Itaewon, regarded as the entertainment district.

Another 82 people are reported hurt, with 19 of them seriously injured. The stampede happened at about 10:20 p.m.

The presence of the police, would not however prevent the tragedy from taking place.

A Reuters report indicated that there were chaotic scenes moments before the stampede, with the police on hand in anticipation of the Halloween event at times having trouble maintaining control of the crowds.

Moon Ju-young, 21, told the agency that there were clear signs of trouble in the alleys before the incident.

“It was at least more than 10 times crowded than usual,” he said.

Also, Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them free.

Choi, a district fire chief, said all the deaths were likely from the crush in the single narrow alley.

Other footage showed chaotic scenes of fire officials and citizens treating dozens of people who appeared to be unconscious.

According to reports, dozens of people were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the streets, while others were taken to nearby hospitals.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has since declared a period of national mourning.

“This is truly tragic,” he said in a statement. “A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night.”

The disaster is among the countries deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.