Policemen standing guard at the scene where a stampede during Halloween festivities killed and injured many people at the popular Itaewon district in Seoul, South Korea. - Reuters
Tokyo (Agencies): Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday (Oct 30) he was "deeply saddened" after a stampede at a Halloween event in the South Korean capital killed more than 150 people.
"I'm hugely shocked and deeply saddened by the extremely tragic accident in Itaewon, Seoul, that took many precious lives, including those of young people with their future ahead of them," Kishida tweeted.
US President Joe Biden also offered his deepest condolences, calling the incident tragic.
"Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul. We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured," he wrote, referring to his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.
While British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time."
A mass of mostly young people among tens of thousands who gathered to celebrate Halloween in Seoul became trapped and crushed as the crowd surged into a narrow alley, killing at least 151 people and injuring 82 others in South Korea’s worst disaster in years.
Those killed or hurt were mostly teens and people in their 20s, according to Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department. The dead included 19 foreigners, he said. The death toll could rise further as 19 of those injured were in critical condition.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years after the country lifted Covid-19 restrictions and social distancing. Many of the party-goers were wearing masks and Halloween costumes.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a period of national mourning.
