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At least 151 people, mostly women and young people in their 20s, were killed in a chaotic stampede in South Korea’s capital, Seoul after a huge crowd thronged a narrow street during Halloween celebrations.
A further 82 were hurt, 19 of them seriously, in the crowd crush that took place in the entertainment district of Itaewon on Saturday night, officials said.
The incident happened at about 10:00pm local time (13:00GMT) when large numbers of people flooded a narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing witnesses.
“The high number of casualties was the result of many being trampled during the Halloween event,” fire official Choi Seong-beom told reporters at the scene on Sunday morning, adding that the death toll could climb.
Many of the victims were women and young people in their 20s, he said.
Nineteen foreigners were also killed, he said. They included people from Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway.
A foreigner live streaming the event captured the extreme panic and pressure to breathe within the crush of the massive crowd.