Police officers working at the scene of the fatal stampede in Seoul. - AP
SEOUL (Bernama): A sudden surge of Halloween crowds instantly packing a narrow 4m-wide downhill alley in Seoul's Itaewon district, resulted in the deadliest stampede in South Korea, witnesses and authorities said Sunday (Oct 30).
With its hip nightlife and chic restaurants, Itaewon, home to expat communities in central Seoul, is by far the most popular spot for Halloween party-goers, and tens of thousands of people visited the area on Saturday (Oct 29) night.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the back alley in question is a downhill 4m by 40m path that links a busy restaurant district with the main street, where about six adults can barely pass at the same time.
A street in Itaewon district is pictured full of people before the stampede during Halloween festivities killed and injured many in Seoul. - Reuters
Massive crowds of party-goers piled into the narrow alley Saturday night to celebrate the first maskless Halloween season since the first Covid-19 outbreaks in early 2020 after the outdoor mask-wearing mandate was completely lifted nationwide in September.
The stampede began "instantly" after some people fell over and caused others to fall down like "dominoes" and pile up on one another, unable to move or breathe, surviving witnesses said.
The densely packed crowds made it difficult for rescuers and police officers to pass a 100m distance to the accident scene and disentangle victims for help, rendering the death toll extremely heavy.
A sudden influx of about 300 patients needing CPR and other first-aid measures also left rescuers shorthanded while heavy return-home traffic in the area added to the difficulties, according to witnesses.
There have been rumours at the scene that a massive crowd surged to see a celebrity who visited the area.
Others said some of the people in the crowd cried "backward, backward" to maintain order, but others mistook it as "push, push" and surged forward.
Surviving witnesses have said they had no way to escape the crushing crowds because the alley lies along the outer wall of a neighbouring hotel, and they were involuntarily pushed forward or backward in the alley, unable to move on their own.
Police plan to launch a dedicated investigation team soon to determine the exact cause of the stampede and whether relevant municipalities were in compliance with accident prevention regulations.
At least 151 people have been crushed to death and 82 others injured.
It was the deadliest accident in South Korea since the sinking of the ferry Sewol in 2014 which killed 304 high-school students and others.
A street in Itaewon district is pictured full of people before the stampede during Halloween festivities killed and injured many in Seoul. - Reuters
Police officers working at the scene of the fatal stampede in Seoul. - AP
People move bodies to be transported from hospital, after a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Debris is seen at the scene where many people died and were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Investigators inspect the scene where many people died and were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
A person receives medical help at the scene where dozens of people were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
People sit on the street after being rescued, at the scene where dozens of people were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 29, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
People look on as a policeman patrols the scene of the stampede during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
A man writes a funeral ode for victims at the scene of the October 29 Halloween stampede in the capital's popular Itaewon district in Seoul on October 30, 2022. - More than 150 people were killed and scores more injured in a stampede at a packed Halloween event in central Seoul late on October 29, officials said, in one of South Korea's worst peacetime accidents. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Yongsan fire station director Choe Sung-beom, center, gives a briefing near the scene where people died and were injured in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. after a mass of mostly young people celebrating Halloween festivities became trapped and crushed as the crowd surged into a narrow alley. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Ambulances carrying victims head to the hospital near the scene in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Oct. 30, 2022. At least 146 people were killed and 100 more were injured as they were crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials said. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)
Flowers are laid at the scene of a Halloween stampede in the capital's popular Itaewon district in Seoul on October 30, 2022. - More than 150 people were killed and scores more injured in a stampede at a packed Halloween event in central Seoul late on October 29, officials said, in one of South Korea's worst peacetime accidents. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol walks towards the scene where many people died and were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/ Heo Ran
Rescue team and firefighters work at the scene where dozens of people were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
Rescue teams work at the scene where dozens of people were injured in a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Hong-ji
