The death toll from the dramatic Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital Seoul continues to rise. The authorities announced on Saturday night (local time) that 146 people have now died as a result of the enormous influx.
Panic broke out among the crowd that had gathered in the Itaewon entertainment district. In addition, more than 150 were injured in the chaos. Some are in bad shape.
Yonhap news agency previously reported that about 50 people had to be resuscitated after going into cardiac arrest. The emergency services had received more than 80 calls in a short time about people who had lost consciousness or had serious breathing problems. A total of 142 fire trucks and ambulances were sent to the busy neighborhood to assist the victims, many of them in their early twenties.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered an emergency meeting on the situation. Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was visiting Europe, has cut short his trip and is flying back to Seoul as soon as possible. An estimated 100,000 people had come to Itaewon to celebrate Halloween, the first since the corona crisis without wearing masks and keeping their distance.
According to media reports, things went awry when a crowd of revelers near the Hamilton hotel turned into a narrowing cross street, possibly because a Korean celebrity had been spotted there. An eyewitness told Yonhap that when some people fell in front, others were crushed further back. It was also rumored that candy with drugs had been distributed in certain clubs. A police spokesman said he had no indications so far that drugs were involved.