At least 153 people have been crushed to death in a horror stampede among Halloween crowds of teenagers and young adults in a packed nightlife area of the South Korean capital of Seoul.
Officials this morning have updated the confirmed death toll to a shocking 153, with dozens more injured, in one of the country's deadliest tragedies on Saturday.
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday, saying: "This is truly tragic," in a statement.
"A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night."
One eyewitness told the Yonhap News Agency: "As people in the front fell over, those in the back were crushed."
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Nineteen of those injured are understood to be in a serious condition.
Yoon expressed condolences to the victims, mostly teenagers and people in their 20s, and his wishes for a speedy recovery to the many injured.
Harrowing photos from the scene show body bags lying in the street, while social media footage showed medics and citizens performing CPR on several people in the nightclub district of Itaewon.
One local outlet reported seeing survivors desperately trying to revive the victims, kneeling to give them CPR until their knees were ripped and bleeding from the hard road.
The cause of the crush remains unconfirmed, but emergency officials said a huge crowd celebrating in the popular district surged into an alley on Saturday night, with a large number of people falling down in the narrow passageway near a hotel. They added that the death toll could rise.
Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said 153 deaths had been confirmed, including 19 foreigners. He told a briefing at the scene 82 people were injured, 19 of them seriously.
Many of those killed were near a nightclub, Choi said. Many of the victims were women in their 20s, while the foreigners killed included people from the US, France, Australia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway.
Russian news agency TASS reported that two Russian nationals were killed and one injured.
Local media reports earlier said crowds had rushed to a nearby bar after hearing that an unidentified celebrity was visiting.
Early on Sunday costumes and personal belongings mingled with blood spots in the narrow street. Survivors huddled under emergency blankets amid throngs of emergency workers, police, and media.
One unnamed witness described seeing people crushed to death in the stampede.
They told the Yonghang news agency: "People were layered on top of others like a tomb. Some were gradually losing their consciousness while some looked dead by that point."
One man in his 20s added: "As people in the front fell over, those in the back were crushed."
Another witness, 22-year-old Song Sehyun, was jammed in the narrow alley two hours before the crush happened - but became so scared that he decided to go home.
He told CNN: "I saw people going to the left side, and I saw a person getting to the opposite side, so actually the person in the middle, they got jammed and they had no way to communicate.
"They couldn't breathe."
One person wrote on Twitter: "People crushed under the crowd were crying and I thought I would be crushed to death too, breathing through a hole and crying for help."
An unidentified mum said her daughter and others were trapped for more than an hour before being pulled from the crush of people in the alley.
Witnesses also recalled chaotic scenes in the moments before the stampede, where police were on hand in anticipation of the crowds.
Videos posted online showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley as emergency officials and police tried to pull them to free.
Many of the partygoers could be seen wearing masks and Halloween costumes, while one woman was heard crying out in English: "Oh my God, oh my God, Jesus f***ing Christ."
The horror took place at around 10.20pm (1.20pm GMT) in an alley near the Hamilton Hotel - a popular party spot.
Witnesses described the crowd becoming increasingly unruly and agitated as the evening deepened. Chaos erupted just before the stampede, with police on hand for the event at times struggling to control the crowds, witnesses said.
Moon Ju-young, 21, an official at the National Fire Agency, said there were clear signs of trouble in the alley before the incident. He told reporters it was more than 10 times as crowded as usual.
Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them free.
"A number of people fell during a Halloween festival, and we have a large number of casualties," said Choi Sung-beom.
Of the victims, 101 were transferred to nearby hospitals and 45 were taken to a multipurpose gymnasium, he said.
A witness said a make-shift morgue was set up in a building adjacent to the scene.
About four dozen bodies were carried out later on wheeled stretchers and moved to a government facility to identify the victims, according to the witness.
President Yon Suk-yeol has presided over an emergency meeting with senior aides.
He earlier ordered the dispatch of emergency medical teams to the area, saying hospital beds should be prepared to minimise casualties.
The presidential office said: "Yoon came to the presidential office in Yongsan and is presiding over a response meeting related with the Seoul Itaewon Halloween accident."
The number of fatalities could rise, said emergency workers.
"The area is still chaotic so we are still trying to figure out the exact number of people injured," said Moon Hyun-joo.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is cutting his overseas trip short and returning to South Korea immediately.
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "Horrific news from Seoul tonight.
"All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time."
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also expressed his condolences, writing: "We were deeply saddened to learn of the deadly stampede today in Seoul.
"We send our thoughts and deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased and injured, as well as to the people of the ROK as they mourn this horrific tragedy."
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell Fontelles tweeted: "Deeply saddened by the terrible events in central Seoul.
"What meant to be a celebration turned into a tragedy with so many young casualties.
"We are with the people of the Republic of Korea at this difficult moment."
Authorities said they were investigating the exact cause of the incident, and that identifying the victims remains their "top priority".
Around 100,000 people had flocked to the area according to local media, to celebrate the first Halloween without face masks, after three years of Covid restrictions and social distancing.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years after the country lifted Covid restrictions and social distancing. Many of the partygoers were wearing masks and Halloween costumes.
"You would see big crowds at Christmas and fireworks...but this was several ten-folds bigger than any of that," Park Jung-hoon, 21, said from the scene.
Curfew on bars and restaurants and a limit of 10 people for private gatherings were lifted in April. An outdoor mask mandate was dropped in May.
The BBC's Hosu Lee, who was at the scene, earlier said: "A lot of young people have gathered here tonight.
"A lot of people came to the party and club, wearing costumes and a lot of people I've seen distraught and sad and there are chaotic scenes."
A local reporter had tweeted that people in the district were told to go home via an emergency alert on their mobiles phones, with venues closing early.
Choi, the Yongsan district fire chief, said all the deaths were likely from the crush in the alley.
Fire officials and witnesses said people continued to pour into the alley after it was already packed wall-to-wall, when those at the top of the slope fell, sending people below them toppling over others.
One woman said her daughter, pulled from the crush of people, survived after being trapped for more than an hour.
A makeshift morgue was set up in a building next to the scene. About four dozen bodies were wheeled out on wheeled stretchers and moved to a government facility to identify the victims, according to a witness.
The Itaewon district is popular with young South Koreans and expatriates alike, its dozens of bars and restaurants packed on Saturday for Halloween after businesses had suffered a sharp decline over three years of the pandemic.
US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sent their condolences, writing: "We grieve with the people of the
Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured."
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: "All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time."
Labour leader Keir Starmer wrote on Twitter: "Horrendous news from Seoul. On behalf of the Labour Party, my thoughts are with the families and friends of those lost."
President Yoon held an emergency meeting with senior aides and ordered a task force be set up to secure resources to treat the injured and launch a thorough investigation into the cause of the disaster.
The disaster is among the country's deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school
students.
The sinking of the Sewol, and criticism of the official response, sent shockwaves across South Korea, prompting widespread soul-searching over safety measures in the country that are likely to be renewed in the wake of Saturday's crush.
