At least 146 dead and 150 injured in Seoul after thousands of Halloween revellers caught in huge stampede

29 October 2022, 17:37 | Updated: 29 October 2022, 22:15

At least 146 people have died and 150 more are injured after a crush among huge crowds in a busy nightlife area of the South Korean capital, Seoul, local officials said on Saturday evening.

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan district fire department, said emergency workers are still transporting the injured to hospitals across Seoul following the stampede, which took place in in the Itaewon neighbourhood on Saturday night.

Mr Seong-beom said many of the dead have been taken to hospitals. The bodies of the remaining people who had been kept on the streets were being moved to a nearby gym so that workers could identify them. Makeshift morgues have reportedly also been set up in the area.

Officials think 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.

Images posted to social media from the scene show people lying unconscious on the street and being treated by emergency services.

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Other photos show body bags lying in the street. A reporter at the scene said he saw "a lot of [medical] staff, a lot of ambulances, they were taking the bodies away one by one".

The BBC's Hosu Lee added: "A lot of young people have gathered here tonight. A lot of people came to the party and club, wearing costumes and a lot of people I've seen distraught and sad and there are chaotic scenes,"

The country's president Yoon Suk-Yeol told emergency services workers from all over the country to report to the area in the wake of the incident, where crowds of up to 100,000 had reportedly gathered for Halloween.

More than 800 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the country, including all available staff in Seoul, went to the streets to treat the injured.

Every mobile phone in the district has been sent a message telling them to go home.

The National Fire Agency also said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.

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.

Police, which were restricting traffic in nearby areas to speed up the transportation of the injured to hospitals across the city, also confirmed that dozens of people were being given CPR on Itaewon streets.

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak shared his commiserations in the wake of the incident.

He said on Twitter: "Horrific news from Seoul tonight. All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time."