A crowd surge during a Halloween celebration in a nightlife district killed more than 150 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who got trapped and crushed after a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul.

The crowd surge on Saturday night in the Itaewon area, according to witnesses, resulted in “hell-like” chaos as people piled on top of one another “like dominoes.” Witnesses reported that while some people were receiving CPR, blood was coming from their noses and mouths, and nearby individuals wearing Halloween costumes continued to sing and dance possibly unaware of the seriousness of the situation.

“I can’t believe what’s happened. “It was like hell,” said Kim Mi Sung, a tourism official at Itaewon’s nonprofit organization.

Kim stated that she performed CPR on ten unconscious people, nine of whom were pronounced dead on the spot. Kim stated that the ten were mostly women dressed up as witches and other Halloween costumes.

153 Dead and 133 Injured

Official estimates put the death toll at 153 and the number of injured at 133 as of Sunday evening. The Interior and Safety Ministry warned that since 37 of the injured people were in critical condition, the death toll could rise even further.

Ken Fallas, a Costa Rican architect who visited Itaewon with expat friends, used his smartphone to record video of unconscious people being carried out of the alley while others yelled for help. He claimed that the loud music added to the chaos.

“When we first started moving forward, there was no turning back,” Fallas said. “We couldn’t hear anything because the music was so loud.” Now, I believe that was one of the main reasons this became so complicated.”

More than 80% of those killed were in their 20s and 30s

There were 97 women and 56 men among the dead. More than 80% of those killed were in their twenties and thirties, but at least four were teenagers. At least 20 of those killed are foreigners from China, Russia, Iran, and other countries. According to the Interior Ministry, one American was among the dead.

Since the pandemic started, Itaewon has hosted the largest outdoor Halloween celebrations in the nation, drawing an estimated 100,000 visitors. In recent months, the COVID-19 restrictions had been loosened by the South Korean government.

According to witnesses, the streets were so densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was nearly impossible for emergency personnel and ambulances to reach the alley near the Hamilton Hotel quickly.

Authorities claimed that thousands of people called or went to a nearby city office to report missing family members and ask for confirmation as to whether they were among those hurt or killed in the crash.

According to Seoul City, the bodies of the deceased were being kept at 42 hospitals in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province, and the city will instruct crematories to burn more bodies per day as part of plans to support funeral proceedings.

Around 100 businesses in the Hamilton Hotel district have agreed to close their doors until Monday to reduce the number of partygoers on the streets on Halloween.

While Halloween isn’t a traditional holiday in South Korea, where children rarely go trick-or-treating, it’s still a big draw for young adults, and costume parties at bars and clubs have grown in popularity in recent years.

An expat-friendly neighborhood known for its hip bars, clubs, and restaurants is Itaewon, which is close to the location where the former headquarters of the U.S. military forces in South Korea operated for decades before leaving the capital in 2018. It is the primary Halloween destination in the city.

On Sunday, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a one-week national mourning period and ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in government buildings and public offices. During a televised speech, Yoon stated that his government would prioritize supporting the victims’ families, including funeral arrangements, and treating the injured.

He also urged officials to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident and to review the safety of other large cultural and entertainment events to ensure they go off without incident.

“This is devastating. “A tragedy and disaster that could have been avoided occurred in the heart of Seoul during Halloween (celebrations),” Yoon said during his speech. “As a president responsible for the lives and safety of the people, I feel heavy-hearted and cannot contain my sadness.”

Yoon went to Itaewon alley where the disaster occurred after the speech. Yoon was seen inspecting the trash-filled alley while being briefed by emergency personnel on local television.

It was unclear what prompted the crowd to rush into the narrow, downhill alley. According to one survivor, many people fell and toppled one another “like dominoes” after being pushed by others.

The survivor, Kim, said they were trapped for about an hour and a half before being rescued, during which time some people yelled, “Help me! According to the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper, ” and others were out of breath.”

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said that bodies were being sent to hospitals or a gym, where bereaved family members could identify them.

World leaders offered condolences, including Pope Francis.

“We pray the Risen Lord also for those — particularly young people — who died last night in Seoul as a result of the tragic consequences of a sudden crush,” Francis said after the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, inviting the crowd to pray for the victims.

The disaster reports, according to U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan, were “heartbreaking,” and Washington “stands ready to provide the Republic of Korea with any support it needs,” he added in a tweet.

According to the Interior Ministry, four Chinese, three Russians, two Iranians, and one each from Vietnam, Austria, Norway, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and the United States died. It went on to say that the nationalities of the four other foreigners had been confirmed.

The number of foreign fatalities has risen to 26. France, Thailand, and Japan each said one of their nationals died in the Itaewon disaster, but the South Korean Interior Ministry could not immediately confirm the reports.

The last South Korean disaster this deadly also hit young people the hardest. In April 2014, 304 people, mostly high school students, died in a ferry sinking. The sinking exposed lax safety rules and regulatory failures. It was partially blamed on excessive and poorly fastened cargo and a crew poorly trained for emergency situations.

The deaths on Saturday are likely to increase public scrutiny of what government officials have done to improve public safety standards since the ferry disaster.

The Deadliest Crushing Disaster in South Korean History

This was the deadliest crushing disaster in South Korean history. In 2005, 11 people were killed and around 60 others were injured at a pop concert in the southern city of Sangju.

During the Lunar New Year holidays in 1960, 31 people died after being crushed on the stairs of a train station as large crowds rushed to board a train.

It was also Asia’s second major crushing disaster in a month. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a soccer match, causing a crush that killed 132 people as spectators attempted to flee.

More than 1,700 response personnel from across the country, including 520 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and 70 government workers, were deployed to the streets to assist the injured. Separately, the National Fire Agency stated that officials were still attempting to determine the exact number of emergency patients.