On Saturday night, a catastrophic stampede in Itaewon, South Korea’s entertainment district, left at least 151 people dead and more than 100 more injured. After the crush, individuals—mostly in their 20s—lying in the streets were desperately given CPR by emergency personnel and bystanders. The nation’s largest outdoor Halloween celebrations had drawn an estimated 100,000 people, but the city’s most famous Halloween attraction quickly became a death trap.
At first the crowd seemed happy and calm, but soon there was a commotion and people were being shoved and forced against one another. Screams, gasps, and an English-speaking female voice crying out ‘Shit, shit!’ and ‘Oh my god, oh my god!’ can all be heard. ‘Partygoers were crammed into the narrow streets so closely that it was difficult to walk around even before the pandemonium erupted. After being imprisoned for approximately an hour and a half’, a survivor told The Associated Press that they were freed.
According to local media reports, one of the survivors observed five to six men shove others before one or two started to fall. Another survivor was quoted by the Associated Press as stating that people tumbled and overturned one another like ‘dominos’ and that many of them were out of breath. According to a woman in her 20s with the last name Park, she and others were standing along the side of the alley while those trapped in the middle of the lane had no way out.
‘We witnessed a sight similar to what might occur in a war. People were rushing in while they were randomly performing CPR since nothing was being contained’. Witness Park Jung-Hoon, 21, told Reuters that it was entirely out of control. Just on the edge of the turmoil, as the number of casualties quickly overtook the paramedics, they were requesting bystanders to provide first aid. Images from the scene showed dozens of dead stretched out on the pavement and covered in bed linens, as well as emergency personnel in orange vests putting even more bodies onto stretchers and into ambulances.
People were seen on Saturday night sobbing next to the bodies of their pals who were dressed as Halloween characters in Itaewon, a city renowned for its trendy nightlife and upscale dining. What prompted the mob to pour down the congested downhill alley close to the Hamilton Hotel is being investigated by the authorities. Businesses in Itaewon were severely damaged by Covid, and many people had lost hope following the pandemic until they learned about Saturday’s Halloween celebrations.
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