151 killed, 82 injured in stampede in Seoul
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E-mail Xinhua, October 30, 2022
At least 151 people were killed and 82 others injured in a stampede that occurred Saturday night at Itaewon, a district of the South Korean capital Seoul, during Halloween gatherings, local authorities said Sunday.
Twenty-two foreigners were among those killed in the accident, according to local firefighting authorities.
A total of 82 people were injured in the crush, including 19 seriously.
Witnesses reported seeing crowds surging into a downhill alley and then people instantly pushed down by others.
"People kept pushing down into a downhill club alley, resulting in other people screaming and falling down like dominos," an unidentified witness wrote on Twitter.
"I thought I would be crushed to death too as people kept pushing without realizing there were people falling down at the start of the stampede," the witness said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday announced a period of national mourning over the tragedy.
"This is truly horrific," he said in a televised national address. "The government will designate the period from today until the accident is brought under control as a period of national mourning and will place top priority in administrative affairs in recovery and follow-up measures."
He also expressed condolences over the deaths and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Immediately after the address, Yoon visited the accident site in Seoul.
The president also ordered all government offices to lower their flags to half-mast, according to his office.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo told reporters that the mourning period would last from Sunday until Saturday at Yoon's instructions.
The stampede was believed to have happened near a narrow alley next to a hotel in the famous nightclub Itaewon district Saturday night. It was said the partygoers at the front fell, and the people in the back were crushed.
Several large Halloween gatherings took place at Itaewon and the police estimated roughly 100,000 people had participated in the Halloween parties.
Local media reported late Saturday that about 50 people were suspected to have gone into cardiac arrest in the accident. More than 140 first-aid vehicles had been sent to the scene to rescue the injured.
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