South Korean officials said the death toll had risen to 154 with 149 injured, 33 of them in serious condition.
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| Photo Credit: Twitter/allkpop and Reuters |
Some of foreign nationals from 14 countries were among the casualties, which include Iran, Uzbekistan, China, Russia and Norway.
Police said over 100,000 tropped to Itaewon, a district in central Seoul known for its nightlife, to celebrate Halloween as COVID-19 restrictions were relaxed.
The Korea Herald reported that at 10:40 p.m. the crowd, mostly in their 20s and 30s, surged into the narrow alley, leaving people stuck for about an hour and a half. As hundreds found themselves trapped in the tight space of the alley, many of those who could not get out died of suffocation.
Pushing and stressing hysterically, a man tries to escape..during the celebrations at the Halloween party..in South Korea..#SouthKorea #Halloween #Seoul #Itaewon #이태원 #이태원사고 #압사사고. pic.twitter.com/qqmgvLOXVf
— Siraj Noorani (@sirajnoorani) October 29, 2022
Very depressed. This kind of event is that tall people can breathe more air than short people. Just seeing the clip, I feel like I can't breathe 😥
— Sumit Kumar (@Sumit_Sankrit) October 30, 2022
#Itaewon #Itaewonน #อิแทวอน #อิแทวอน #Seoul #Halloween #SouthKorea #이태원사고 pic.twitter.com/s3ka1iDac5
The disaster is the country's deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Monday promised a thorough investigation into the Halloween crush.
— The Summit Express
