More than 150 people were killed in a stampede at a Halloween event in central Seoul, officials said yesterday, with South Korea's president vowing a full investigation into one of the country's worst disasters.
The crowd surge and crush hit in the capital's popular Itaewon District, where police estimate as many as 100,000 people – mostly in their teens and 20s – went to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, clogging the area's narrow alleyways and winding streets.
Eyewitnesses described being trapped in a narrow, sloping alleyway, and scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd as people piled on top of one another.
The interior ministry said that 154 people had died, including 26 foreigners, in the stampede, which occurred around 10pm. Most of the victims were young women in their 20s, it said, adding that 133 people were injured.
The Interior Ministry said most victims had now been identified.
The 26 foreigners killed included victims from Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway, Yonhap reported.
The Chinese Embassy in Seoul confirmed on its official WeChat account that four Chinese citizens had died in the stampede.
