No less than 151 folks had been killed on Saturday and a few 150 had been injured in a stampede in central Seoul when 1000’s crowded into slim streets to have a good time Halloween, officers mentioned.
Fireplace Division official Choi Seong-beom mentioned the stampede befell round 10.22pm within the South Korean capital, and that lots of the victims had been trampled to loss of life.
“The excessive variety of casualties was the results of many being trampled through the Halloween occasion,” Choi mentioned, including that the loss of life toll might climb.
‘19 foreigners’ among the many victims
Particulars stay scant, with authorities struggling to establish the victims, however in a stay replace on Sunday afternoon Australian time South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol confirmed that not less than 15 foreigners had been killed.
That quantity embody folks from Iran, Norway, China and Uzbekistan, Yongsan Fireplace Dept Chief Choi Seong-bum confirmed.
A Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce (DFAT) spokesperson instructed information.com.au the Australian Authorities was “urgently” looking for out if any Australians had been impacted.
“The Australian Authorities sends its deepest condolences to these affected by this tragic incident,” the spokesperson mentioned.
“The Australian Embassy in Seoul is urgently making enquiries with native authorities to establish whether or not any Australians are concerned.
Australians involved in regards to the welfare of family members can name DFAT’s Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135. These exterior Australia can name +61 2 6261 3305.”
Interval of mourning introduced
The South Korean President additionally introduced a interval of mourning because the nation wakes as much as the total scale of the unfolding tragedy, with the loss of life toll rising to 151.
He wished the injured “speedy recoveries” and described his sorrow over the “depressing” catastrophe.
Officers early on Sunday morning mentioned some victims had been tough to establish due to their Halloween costumes and as a result of many not carrying identification with them.
Earlier, they mentioned 50 folks had been in cardiac arrest and that greater than 140 ambulances had been dispatched to the scene to assist the victims.
The district of Itaewon is a well-liked vacation spot for folks celebrating Halloween within the metropolis.
President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered officers to dispatch first support groups and to swiftly safe hospital beds for these affected, the presidential workplace mentioned.
Video footage from the scene of the crush confirmed folks performing emergency first support on a number of victims who seemed to be susceptible on the pavement, whereas rescue staff rushed to assist others.
Within the moments earlier than the crush, video taken from folks inside the gang confirmed dozens of individuals yelling for assist as stress from these round them constructed up.
Physician tells of the tragedy
In an interview with native broadcaster YTN, Lee Beom-suk, a physician who administered first support to the victims described scenes of tragedy and chaos.
“So many victims’ faces had been pale. I couldn’t catch their pulse or breath and lots of of them had a bloody nostril.
“After I tried CPR, I additionally pumped blood out of their mouths.”
AFP photographs confirmed scores of our bodies on the pavement lined by mattress sheets, and emergency staff wearing orange vests loading much more our bodies on stretchers into ambulances.
Witnesses describe horror scenes
Those that had been there because the tragedy unfolded have recalled fearing for his or her life.
“There have been so many individuals that we couldn’t transfer … It appeared like I’d have died if I had fallen,” a 46-year-old instructed the New York Instances.
One other wrote on Twitter: “Individuals stored pushing down and extra folks had been crushed down”.
Another person mentioned: “Individuals crushed underneath the gang had been crying and I believed I’d be crushed to loss of life, too, respiration by a gap and crying for assist”.
One of many survivors recalled folks toppling over “like dominoes” after being pushed over.
They mentioned they had been trapped for about an hour and a half earlier than being rescued, as folks referred to as out for assist.
One other survivor mentioned he noticed 5 or 6 males push into others which induced one or two to start falling, in line with Seoul-based newspaper Hankyoreh.
Yellow-jacketed policemen shaped a cordon across the web site of the crush, with rescue officers loading victims — a few of whom had been lined with blankets — into ambulances.
Round two dozen folks had been totally lined by makeshift blankets on the roadside.
Emergency staff carried them off on wheeled stretchers to ready ambulances.
This yr’s Halloween celebration is the primary because the pandemic broke out in 2020 at which South Koreans haven’t been mandated to put on face masks outside.
What induced tragedy
Whereas authorities mentioned they had been investigating the precise reason behind the incident, some officers have blamed the gang surge for the deaths, which has been described by a neighborhood hearth official as a “presumed stampede”.
A number of stories instructed many victims suffered cardiac arrest and respiration hassle, with preliminary stories of individuals being “buried” beneath the crowds simply earlier than 10.30pm (native time). Chief of the Yongsan-gu Fireplace Division, Choi Seong-bum, mentioned there was no gasoline leak or hearth linked to the deaths.
He mentioned a lot of the casualties had been youngsters and other people of their 20s.
Greater than 1700 emergency response forces had been dispatched, together with 517 firefighters, 1100 police officers and round 70 authorities staff.
The Itaewon district is common with younger South Koreans and expatriates alike, its dozens of bars and eating places packed on Saturday for Halloween after companies had suffered a pointy decline over three years of the pandemic.
“You’ll see massive crowds at Christmas and fireworks … however this was a number of ten-folds larger than any of that,” Park Jung-hoon, 21, instructed Reuters.
The catastrophe is among the many nation’s deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 folks, primarily highschool college students.
– with AFP
Initially printed as No less than 19 foreigners killed in Halloween stampede as whole loss of life toll rises to 151
