At least 146 people were killed and 150 injured in a stampede after a crowd poured into a central district of the South Korean capital Seoul for Halloween festivities on Saturday night, a fire official said.
The incident took place at about 1.20pm Irish time. A large number of people fell down in a narrow alley during the Halloween events, Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said.
The number of casualties could rise as the rescue effort was still under way.
“The area is still chaotic so we are still trying to figure out the exact number of people injured,” Moon Hyun-joo, an official at the National Fire Agency said.
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Foreigners were among those transferred to nearby hospitals.
President Yon Suk-yeol presided over an emergency meeting with senior aides and ordered emergency medical teams to the area, his office said.
Authorities said they were investigating the exact cause of the incident.
Mr Choi said it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
He said more than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.
TV footage and photos from the scene showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers.
Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets. Multiple people, apparently among those injured, were seen covered in yellow blankets.
Police also confirmed that dozens of people were being given CPR on Itaewon streets while many others have been taken to nearby hospitals.
Local media said around 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which were the biggest in years following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in recent months. — AP/Reuters