After Halloween Stampede, Scenes Of Horror In South Korea

Party-goers in costumes fleeing in panic, desperate attempts at first aid on the sidewalks, scores of bodies lined up under makeshift shrouds: in Seoul's lively Itaewon district, a Halloween festival...

Costume-clad party-goers flee in panic, desperate attempts for first aid on sidewalks, dozens of bodies lined up under makeshift shrouds: In Seoul's vibrant Itaewon district, the Halloween festival turned into a tragedy on Saturday.

Nearly 150 people were killed in an escalation and stampede the cause of which remains unclear, in this popularity,

A cosmopolitan district in the capital of South Korea, located near a former US military base and famous for its bars and clubs.

Tens of thousands of people - mostly young adults, many in elaborate Halloween costumes - descended on the area Saturday night, in the first Halloween celebration since most cases of Covid-19.

19 restrictions have been lifted.

"My friend said, 'There's something terrible going on outside,'" Jeon Ga Yeol, 30, who was having a drink at a bar at the time of the stampede, said.

"I said, 'What are you talking about?' Then I went out to see and there were people doing CPR on the street."

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The famous Drama of 2020, which hit Itaewon Class, is a warren of steep, sloping alleys on either side of the main road.

Witnesses told AFP that the crowd was exceptionally dense on Saturday night, and Jeon said that even before the disaster, he was feeling unsafe.

"There were a lot of people who were just being pushed and I fell into the crowd and couldn't get out at first either," he said.

"It felt like an accident was bound to happen."

help passersby

The stampede took place in a narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon.

In the face of a large number of victims,

The first emergency responders were asking passersby to provide first aid and perform CPR to the victims in the streets, next to the chaos.

The bodies of people who had been crushed or trampled to death were in rows covered with blankets or makeshift shrouds.

Hundreds of ambulances queued in front of Sun Chun Hyang University Hospital near Itaewon, where a large number of victims were taken.

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At the scene, which was cordoned off by police and flooded with red from hundreds of bright lights, music continued to be played from some bars.

dazed passers-by

Sit on the sidewalk and check their phones. The others calmed themselves, and hugged each other even with others—apparently unaware of the magnitude of the tragedy unfolding right next to them, they continued to celebrate.

Police investigators roamed alleys strewn with debris.

“The place is always crowded, but nothing like this has happened before,

"Joe Young Busamae, 24, a waiter in Itaewon, told AFP.

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