South Korea declares national mourning after more than 150 die in stampede

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South Korea declares national mourning after more than 150 die in stampede
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared national mourning period over a stampede during Halloween festivities that left 151 people dead including 19 foreigners.

According to international media reports, "In the centre of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened," Yoon said in a national address on Sunday, vowing to "thoroughly investigate" the incident and ensure it could never happen again.

Yoon's announcement came after a mass of mostly young people celebrating Halloween festivities in Seoul became trapped and crushed as the crowd surged into a narrow alley, causing country's worst disaster in years.

Emergency workers and pedestrians desperately performed CPR on people lying in the streets after the crush in the capital’s leisure district of Itaewon.

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul's Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise further and that an unspecified number among the injured were in critical condition.

An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country's biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began.

The South Korean government eased Covid-19 restrictions in recent months.

Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of US military forces in South Korea operated before moving out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district known for its trendy bars, clubs and restaurants.

 

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