It was supposed to be a night of happy celebration in Seoul, South Korea, the first open celebration without social distancing after 3 years of Covid19 pandemic restrain; but it had turned into a tragic large-scale stampede accident.
The Korean media reported that at 10:22 pm on the 29th, in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, a crowd gathered ahead of Halloween gathered in a narrow alley, causing many casualties.
The fire department said that as of 10 am on the 30th, 156 people had died in the disaster, of which 19 were foreigners.
However, several of the injured are believed to be in serious condition, and the death toll is likely to rise.
The accident occurred as a crowd gathered in a 4m wide alley in the center of Itaewon. Witnesses said at the time that people in front of them fell and those behind them began to be crushed.
Fire officials said most of the dead were in their teens and 20s.
Korean media reported that at least tens of thousands of people visited Itaewon on this day to enjoy the Halloween atmosphere and events held on the weekend before Halloween.
The Korean government held an emergency situation inspection meeting at the presidential office building, and then held a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (major script) at the Gwanghwamun Government Complex Seoul situation room.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government also launched the Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters to respond to accidents.