Published: Less than 40 min ago
Updated: Just now
The Halloween celebration in Seoul turned into a terrible tragedy with over 150 dead.
According to witnesses, the narrow, sloping alley was filled from wall to wall with people trying to get in from two directions.
This is what we know about what happened.
On Saturday, people begin to gather in the entertainment district of Itaewon in the South Korean capital. Party-hungry Seoulites stream from the subway station to celebrate the first big Halloween celebration since the covid restrictions were lifted.
Many are young and dressed up to celebrate Halloween.
According to the police, over 100,000 have gathered in the area: in bars, restaurants and out on the streets. Already at eight o’clock it is packed in the narrow alleys of the entertainment district.
– I have never seen such crowds in my life before, says Ulas Cetinkaya, who runs a kebab restaurant in the area, to the NY Times.
The chaos starts in the alley
According to local media reports, the chaos breaks out in a narrow, sloping alley to one side of the Hamilton Hotel.
It is said to occur when people try to get to a bar where a celebrity is rumored to have been spotted.
People head towards the bar and it gets more and more crowded in the alley as people press in from two sides. According to witnesses, the alley is filled from wall to wall as people continue to make their way there.
“Incited each other”
Seon Yeo-jeong, a South Korean YouTuber, says people were heckling each other in the crowd. “Come on, press! We are stronger! I will win!”
Witnesses describe how the crowd begins to swing back and forth and that people end up falling over each other. According to Reuters, some are trying to climb onto house facades to escape the increased pressure.
“People kept pushing down a sloping alley and people started screaming and falling like dominoes,” writes a witness according to the Yonhap news agency.
First alarm
At 10:30 p.m. local time, the first alarm comes to the authorities: people are being buried in the crowds. Films from the scene of the accident show rescue workers struggling to free people stuck in the alley.
At the same time, people continue to flock to the entertainment district. Authorities send out a text message to residents urging everyone to leave the area.
According to witnesses, the congestion makes it difficult for emergency personnel to reach the victims. At the same time, the music pumps out from the nightclubs.
– People must be told how bad it was and how little help was available. No one paid attention to what happened, an Australian man whose 23-year-old friend was injured and is now missing told Yonhap.
3,580 are reported missing
According to early reports, around 50 people are being treated for cardiac arrest. Others are bleeding from the head or have suffered from a lack of oxygen, says a nurse who takes care of the injured.
But the dead and injured will be many more.
During Sunday morning, the streets in the entertainment district are empty, the police have closed the streets to traffic.
Authorities have set up a line where people can call to report their missing relatives. During Sunday, 3,580 people were reported missing.
The death toll on Sunday morning is up to 153 people and 82 people are injured. 10 people who lack identity documents have not yet been identified. The majority of the dead are women. Most of the victims are young people in their 20s, the youngest 16.
A man who lost his daughter in the disaster criticizes the authorities. He believes that it was known that extremely many people would gather in the area during the evening.
“I don’t think there was any preparation for this, which led to a disaster,” he told Reuters.
Memorials will be set up in central Seoul and in Itaewon, and the president has declared a national period of mourning until November 5.
The entire district of Yongsan has been declared a disaster area.
– This is really tragic. A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night, Yoon Suk-yeol said in a statement.