100 injured after Halloween crowd surge in Seoul, officers say

About 100 folks had been injured and an unspecified quantity had been feared lifeless after being crushed by a big crowd pushing ahead on a slender avenue throughout Halloween festivities within the capital Seoul, South Korean officers stated.

Choi Cheon-sik, an official from the Nationwide Hearth Company, stated round 100 folks had been reported as injured in the course of the crowd surge Saturday evening within the Itaewon leisure district and round 50 had been being handled for cardiac arrest as of early Sunday.

Choi stated it was believed that individuals had been crushed to loss of life after a big crowd started pushing ahead in a slender alley close to Hamilton Lodge, a serious occasion spot in Seoul.

He stated greater than 400 emergency staff and 140 autos from across the nation, together with all out there personnel in Seoul, had been deployed to the streets to deal with the injured.

Officers did not instantly launch a loss of life toll, as they normally do not till the deaths are confirmed at hospitals. The Nationwide Hearth Company individually stated in a press release that officers had been nonetheless attempting to find out the precise variety of emergency sufferers.

TV footage and images from the scene confirmed ambulance autos lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency staff shifting the injured in stretchers. Emergency staff and pedestrians had been additionally seen performing CPR on folks mendacity within the streets. A number of folks, apparently amongst these injured, had been seen lined in yellow blankets.

Police additionally confirmed that dozens of individuals had been being given CPR on Itaewon streets whereas many others have been taken to close by hospitals.

An area police officer stated he was additionally knowledgeable {that a} stampede occurred on Itaewon’s streets the place a crowd of individuals gathered for Halloween festivities. The officer requested anonymity, saying the main points of the incident was nonetheless underneath investigation.

Some native media experiences earlier stated the crush occurred after a lot of folks rushed to an Itaewon bar after listening to an unidentified superstar visited there.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a press release calling for officers to make sure swift remedy for these injured and evaluate the security of the festivity websites. He additionally instructed the Well being Ministry to swiftly deploy catastrophe medical help groups and safe beds in close by hospital to deal with the injured.

Native media stated round 100,000 folks flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which had been the largest in years following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in latest months.