Instead of exuberant joy, chaos reigns: mass panic breaks out at a Halloween celebration in Seoul. The authorities report hundreds dead and injured. Rescue workers from all over the country are on duty. German Chancellor Scholz expresses his condolences after the tragedy.
At least 149 people died in a crowd during Halloween celebrations in South Korea, officials said. According to the fire department, 150 other people were injured in the accident on Saturday in the capital Seoul. Many victims were trampled to death, said a fire department spokesman. The condition of some of the injured is serious. The number of deaths could continue to rise, the rescue workers had announced earlier in the evening. Several foreigners were also taken to hospitals.
Yonhap Agency quoted an eyewitness as saying, “People were piled one on top of the other as if in a tomb. Some were gradually losing consciousness, while others looked dead by then.”
During the celebrations, a large number of people fell in a narrow alley in the city center, the fire department said. The victims were then apparently crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween celebrations in the Itaewon district. Reportedly, many of the people wanted a celebrity glimpse.
Images and videos posted on social media show victims lying on the sidewalk while bystanders try to revive them. The emergency call center said it received at least 81 calls from people struggling with shortness of breath. Choi Cheon-sik, an official with the National Fire Department, first told Sky News that about 100 people had been reported injured, including 50 in cardiac arrest.
The crowd stayed near the Hamilton Hotel, a popular party spot in the city, he said. More than 400 rescue workers from across the country are on duty, including almost all of those available in Seoul, Choi Cheon-sik added.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is currently on a European tour but decided to return home after the news, according to Sky News. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said in a statement that authorities should ensure prompt treatment for the injured and check the safety of festival sites. He also ordered the Ministry of Health to quickly dispatch emergency medical teams and secure beds in nearby hospitals to treat the injured.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has expressed his condolences to the bereaved and victims of the Halloween tragedy in South Korea. “The tragic events in Seoul shock us deeply,” said the SPD politician on Twitter late Saturday evening. “Our thoughts are with the many victims and their families. This is a sad day for South Korea. Germany stands by their side.”
The Halloween festival coming from the USA is actually celebrated on the night of October 31st to November 1st. It goes back to a Celtic custom, according to which evil spirits should be driven away at the beginning of the dark season.