Oct. 29 (EUROPA PRESS) –
At least 59 people have died and more than 150 have been injured in a serious and massive human stampede that occurred during a Halloween party in the Itaewon neighborhood, in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, according to the preliminary balance.
Firefighters have confirmed the figure of 59 deaths in a still provisional balance of the tragedy, since there were tens of thousands of people at the scene, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Up to 13 people have died after being taken to hospitals and 46 have been declared dead at the scene of the incident.
“At 10:46 p.m. on October 29, there was a crowding accident near the Hamilton Hotel,” the Central Office for Disasters and Security of the South Korean Interior Ministry previously reported, quoted by the South Korean press.
The emergency services have received at least 81 warning calls from the Hotel Hamilton area for breathing difficulties since 11:30 p.m.
The newspaper ‘Hangyore Sinmun’ has reported that police and fire personnel have been seen moving “dozens” of bodies that could be deceased. Officially, the Fire Department has confirmed the transfer of “24 people to hospitals with heart accidents”, so the final number of deaths could be much higher than that confirmed so far.
An eyewitness quoted by Yonhap explained that “suddenly everyone fell down and the people who were left below were crushed.” The Seoul Metropolitan Police has already opened an investigation.
The Firefighters have activated a Level Three response at 11:50 p.m. and have sent personnel to the area, where a field hospital has already been installed with the support of the Seoul National University Hospital, the Kyunghee University Hospital and the Seoul University Hospital. Hanyang. At least 142 emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire trucks have been sent to the scene.
The injured have been taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital, National Medical Center, Mokdong Ewha Women’s University Hospital, Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Chungang University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital and to Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has called an emergency meeting of the Presidential Crisis Management Center in Yongsan, Seoul. The mayor of Seoul, Oh Se Hoon, has also been informed and is returning from Europe after suspending a trip in which he was scheduled to visit four countries.
The Police had previously reported that they expected a large concentration of some 100,000 people at the Halloween party where the tragedy occurred.
