At least 140 people were killed and about 150 injured in a stampede in Seoul from Saturday to Sunday, when thousands of people crowded the narrow streets of the southeastern Korean capital during the Halloween New Year holiday, AFP reported.
22:47 As of 4:00 a.m. local time (19:00 GMT), 146 people had died and 150 were injured, according to new figures from Seoul’s fire chief.
21:47 “As of 2:30 a.m. (5:30 p.m. GMT Saturday), 120 people have died and another 100 have been injured,” said Choi Sung-beom, chief of the South Korean capital’s fire department.
“The high death toll is due to the fact that many people were trampled during the Halloween party,” he added, noting that the death toll could continue to rise.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT – A stampede in South Korea has left at least 120 dead after a crowd took to the streets in Seoul’s nightlife district to celebrate Halloween https://t.co/0ZIX4goo8F pic.twitter.com/4aZn6UMdxa
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 29, 2022
59 dead and 150 wounded were previously reported.
“Heart Attack”
Firefighters in the South Korean capital have announced for the first time that dozens of people have suffered cardiac arrest in the Ithaewon district of central Seoul.
In South Korea, officials talk about cardiac arrest until a doctor officially declares a person dead.
A representative of the fire service said that 140 ambulances were sent to the scene to help the victims.
The victims appear to have been mobbed in the area, where Halloween celebrations draw large crowds in the South Korean capital.
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Choi Cheon-sik, an official with the National Fire Safety Agency, said about 100 people were injured in the stampede Saturday night in the entertainment district of Ithaewon, and about 50 people suffered cardiac arrest.
He said more than 400 emergency workers, nearly all of Seoul’s available personnel, were sent to the streets to treat the injured. Officials have not released the death toll.
Some articles in the local press said that the incident started with a rumor that a local celebrity was in a bar in the area and people flocked to see her.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appealed to officials to provide emergency aid to the injured and asked the Ministry of Health to immediately send medical teams and hospital beds to treat the injured.
Source: Hot News RO
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