A large Halloween celebration Saturday night in Seoul, South Korea, turned into a horror show after 146+ people were crushed to death and another 150 were injured in overly packed streets.
The New York Times reported that approximately 100,000 people showed up to the event leading to narrow streets being crammed full of people who could not move.
There were so many people present that emergency workers reportedly struggled to make it to the victims and then again struggled to transport them out of the area to hospitals.
The Washington Post reported that the U.S. Military responded to the incident and was helping local authorities do crowd control.
The Yonsan-gu Fire Department said that there was no gas leak or fire in the area as they continued to investigate what led to the mass casualty event.
Choi Seong-beom, head of the fire department, told reporters that “many casualties were incurred as a crowd of people fell over during Halloween parties.”
Dozens of people reportedly suffering mysterious cardiac arrest symptoms during Halloween celebrations in Seoul, South Korea. pic.twitter.com/qCCgzxeZzW
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) October 29, 2022
Desperate efforts to resuscitate victims in Seoul, South Korea with chest compressions to multiple people in the area. What happened here? pic.twitter.com/kzLrmBMPGG
— Frida Ghitis (@FridaGhitis) October 29, 2022
Remnants on the street of the chaos in Itaewon early Sunday morning pic.twitter.com/I3Rtzu0cfH
— Bryan Pietsch 정동수 (@bybryanpietsch) October 29, 2022
Yonhap News Agency said that the incident happened “in a narrow downhill alley near Hamilton Hotel in the famous nightlife district after a throng of partygoers flooded into it.”
The report said that 848 first responders, including 346 firefighters, were dispatched to respond to the incident, which is being called one of the largest mass casualty events during peacetime in the country’s history.
Many of the people who appeared to be deceased or serious injured appeared to be young adults in their 20s, authorities said.
Rescue workers could be seen performing CPR on dozens of victims in numerous videos circulating on social.
This was the first major Halloween celebration in the nation’s capital since the coronavirus pandemic erupted a couple of years ago.
The Times said that the area where the incident happened, Itaewon, is a shopping and entertainment district that was originally developed to cater to American soldiers during the Korean War. It has since become “one of the most popular neighborhoods in Seoul” for its restaurants and night life.
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