Dozens of people suffer “cardiac arrest” following an incident during Halloween festivities in South Korea’s capital Seoul
Fifty-nine people have died in the crush among huge Halloween crowds in a popular nightlife area of South Korea’s capital, officials say.
Yonhap news agency cited emergency services saying 150 more had been injured in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
Videos from the scene show body bags on the streets, emergency workers performing CPR, and rescuers trying to pull people trapped beneath others.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has called an emergency meeting.
Around 50 people were in cardiac arrest in the central neighbourhood, Yonhap news agency reported, citing fire officials.
Choi Cheon-sik, an official from the National Fire Agency, said at least 60 more people were being treated for injuries at hospitals and that the death toll could grow following the stampede in the leisure district of Itaewon Saturday night. Officials say it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
Officials from the National Fire Agency and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety earlier said about 100 were injured and around 50 were being treated for cardiac arrest as of early Sunday.
More than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.
The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
About 100 people are reported to be in #CardiacArrest after #stampede in #Seoul, South Korea ….People have collapsed and possible multiple fatalities due to overcrowding during the #Halloween festivities. pic.twitter.com/hjZWLZFwqx
— Smriti Sharma (@SmritiSharma_) October 29, 2022
TV footage and photos from the scene showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers. Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets.
Video Credit: (Twitter) Smiriti Sharma
