Most of the victims are young people in their 20s. The Seoul Metropolitan Police has opened an investigation and the president of South Korea has declared official mourning in the country.
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At least 151 people have died and another 82 have been injured in a serious and massive human stampede occurred during a Halloween party in the Itaewon neighborhood, in seoulthe capital of South Korea, according to the latest balance published by Firefighters, which shows that 19 of the deceased are foreigners.
According to the South Korean press, the accident took place when a crowd gathered in a street about four meters widedownhill, next to the Hamilton Hotel in the downtown Itaewon.
Local merchants have explained that the crowd began to gather in the area during the day and by nightfall tens of thousands of people filled the narrow streets of Itaewon. Police had previously reported that they expected a large concentration of about 100,000 people at the Halloween party where the tragedy occurred.
An eyewitness explained that around 10:30 p.m. “everyone started falling all of a sudden and the people who were left below were crushed“. Other people present have described that people were piled up in “layers” of up to five and six levels.
Health personnel working in the stampede. Photo: EFE
Authorities have indicated that most of the deceased were young people around 20 years of age and that there are at least 19 foreigners among the victims.
The bodies have been temporarily moved to Wonhyo’s gymnasium and later taken to the morgue of Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan. The injured have been taken to nearby hospitals and a field hospital has also been set up at the site.
The authorities do not rule out that the number of deaths may increase in the coming hours, according to the Yonhap agency.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police has opened one research to clarify what happened.
Image captured by a witness at the time of the avalanche. Photo: EFE
The president declares official mourning
South Korean President, Yoon Suk Yeol, has announced a period of official mourning and has ordered that the flags fly at half-staff “until the accident is under control”, in an intervention on the YTN television channel.
The president of United States, Joe Biden, has conveyed condolences on behalf of himself and his wife, Jill Biden, to all the families who have lost loved ones in Seoul.
The President of the European Council, CharlesMichael, He has also expressed his ‘shock’ at so many deaths during the Halloween celebrations.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Borrell and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metzolawho has stated that she was shocked by the latest news from Seoul.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholzhas expressed his condolences on his official Twitter account, as has the French president, Emmanuel Macron.
Source: Eitb
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