A HALLOWEEN STAMPEDE FROM SOUTH KOREA
At least 151 people were killed and 82 more were injured in South Korea's biggest disaster in years when a crowd of primarily young people celebrating Halloween festivities in Seoul became trapped and crushed.
After the throng in the capital's Itaewon leisure zone on Saturday night, emergency personnel and bystanders desperately gave CPR to victims laying in the streets.
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Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan fire department in Seoul, said that the majority of those killed or injured were teenagers and adults in their 20s. He claimed that there were 19 foreigners among the dead, whose nationalities were not immediately disclosed. The number of fatalities may increase given that 19 of the injured people are in serious condition.
Since the pandemic started, Itaewon has hosted the largest outdoor Halloween celebrations in the nation with an estimated 100,000 attendees. In recent months, the COVID-19 limits were loosened by the South Korean government. In Itaewon, a neighborhood that welcomes expats and is known for its hip bars, clubs, and restaurants, the old headquarters of the United States military troops in South Korea operated before leaving the capital in 2018.
According to the newspaper, Lee Chang-kyu, another survivor, claimed that he witnessed five to six men pushing one another before one or two of them started to collapse.
It was frightening to witness rows of victims close to the hotel, said Hwang Min-hyeok, a tourist to Itaewon, in an interview with news outlet YTN. He claimed that at first, emergency personnel were overburdened, leaving people scrambling to do CPR on the injured who were laying on the streets. He claimed that many sobbed next to their friends' bodies.
On October 29, 2022, a rescue crew and firefighters work at the scene where numerous people were hurt following a stampede during a Halloween festival in Seoul, South Korea.
A second survivor in his 20s claimed that by entering a pub whose door was open at the alley, he was able to avoid being crushed, according to the Yonhap news agency. According to a woman in her 20s with the last name Park, she and others were standing at the side of the alley while those trapped in the middle had no way out.
According to Choi, the head of the fire department, bodies were being delivered to medical facilities or a gym so that grieving relatives could identify them. Most of the victims, he claimed, are in their 20s.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of Great Britain, tweeted, "Horrific news from Seoul tonight." At this extremely sad time, "all our thoughts are with those who are responding and with all South Koreans."
The tragedy reports, according to U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan, were "heartbreaking," and Washington "stands ready to offer the Republic of Korea with any support it needs," he added in a tweet.
The most severely affected age group in South Korea's most recent tragic calamity was youth. A ferry capsized in April 2014, killing 304 individuals, the majority of whom were high school students. The sinking exposed low safety standards and regulatory shortcomings; it was largely attributed to an overabundance of shoddy-fastened cargo and a crew that had not received adequate emergency training. The deaths on Saturday will probably cause the public to question what steps the administration has taken to raise public safety standards following the boat accident.
Additionally, it was Asia's second devastating earthquake in a month. On October 1st, Indonesian police opened fire with tear gas at a soccer event, causing a crush that resulted in the deaths of 132 spectators who were attempting to flee.
Throughout 1,700 reaction personnel from all over the nation, including about 520 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and 70 government employees, were sent to the streets to aid the injured. The precise number of emergency patients is still being calculated, according to a second statement from the National Fire Agency.
In a statement, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol urged officials to guarantee that individuals who were hurt received prompt medical attention and to assess the festival locations' security.
The disaster that killed the most people in South Korea was this one. In 2005, at a music event in the southern city of Sangju, 11 people died and another 60 others were hurt.
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