Video After The Jump
SEOUL, Oct 30 (Reuters) - At least 149 people were killed in a crush when a huge crowd celebrating Halloween surged into an alley in a nightlife area of the South Korean capital Seoul on Saturday night.
A further 150 people were injured in the melee in Seoul's Itaewon district, Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said.
Many of the injured were in serious condition & receiving emergency treatment.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in 3 years after the country lifted COVID restrictions & social distancing. Many of the partygoers were wearing masks & Halloween costumes.
Some witnesses described the crowd becoming increasingly unruly and agitated as the evening deepened.
"A number of people fell during a Halloween festival & we have a large number of casualties," Choi said. Many of those killed were near a nightclub. It was at least more than 10 times crowded than usual," he told Reuters
Witnesses described 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.
Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed & immobile as emergency officials & police tried to pull them to free.
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