SEOUL, South Korea — No less than 146 folks had been killed and 150 extra had been injured as they had been crushed by a big crowd pushing ahead on a slim avenue throughout Halloween festivities within the capital of Seoul, South Korean officers mentioned.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fireplace division, mentioned the dying toll might rise and that an unspecified quantity among the many injured had been in vital situations following the stampede in Itaewon on Saturday night time.
Officers say folks had been crushed to dying after a big crowd started pushing ahead in a slim alley close to Hamilton Lodge, a significant celebration spot in Seoul.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows beneath.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — No less than 120 folks had been killed and 100 extra had been injured as they had been crushed by a big crowd pushing ahead on a slim avenue throughout Halloween festivities within the capital of Seoul, South Korean officers mentioned.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fireplace division, mentioned the dying toll might rise and that an unspecified quantity among the many injured had been in vital situations following the stampede within the leisure district of Itaewon Saturday night time.
He mentioned 74 of the useless have been despatched to hospitals whereas the our bodies of the remaining 46 who had been saved on the streets had been being transported to a close-by fitness center in order that staff might determine them.
Officers say folks had been crushed to dying after a big crowd started pushing ahead in a slim alley close to Hamilton Lodge, a significant celebration spot in Seoul.
Greater than 800 emergency staff and law enforcement officials from across the nation, together with all out there personnel in Seoul, had been deployed to the streets to deal with the injured.
The Nationwide Fireplace Company individually mentioned in a press release that officers had been nonetheless attempting to find out the precise variety of emergency sufferers.
TV footage and images confirmed ambulance autos lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency staff transferring the injured in stretchers. Emergency staff and pedestrians had been additionally seen performing CPR on folks within the streets.
In a single part, paramedics had been seen checking the standing of a dozen or extra individuals who lied immobile underneath blue blankets.
Police, which had been proscribing site visitors in close by areas to hurry up the transportation of the injured to hospitals throughout the town, additionally confirmed that dozens of individuals had been being given CPR on Itaewon streets. The Seoul Metropolitan Authorities issued emergency textual content messages urging folks within the space to swiftly return residence.
Some native media reviews earlier mentioned the crush occurred after numerous folks rushed to an Itaewon bar after listening to an unidentified celeb visited there.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a press release calling for officers to make sure swift remedy for these injured and evaluate the security of the festivity websites. He additionally instructed the Well being Ministry to swiftly deploy catastrophe medical help groups and safe beds in close by hospital to deal with the injured.
Native media mentioned round 100,000 folks flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which had been the largest for the reason that begin of the pandemic following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions in latest months.