What is known about the tragedy that killed 153 people on Halloween in South Korea

Videos show corpses lying down and people petting in the streets surrounded by huge crowds.

At least 153 people died during a crowd at a Halloween celebration in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday (29/10), according to local officials.

In the hours following the tragedy, the death toll gradually increased. Authorities said more than 80 people were injured.

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Video captured at the scene shows rescuers performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and rescuers attempting to capture people trapped in the crowd. Some images also show corpses in the streets.

It is not yet clear what caused the incident. But according to local officials, the tragedy occurred in a high area where some people fell, causing a massive crush.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has called an emergency meeting to discuss the case.

According to Choi Seong-beom, head of the Yongsan fire department in Seoul, most of the victims are teenagers in their 20s.

According to local authorities, 20 foreigners are among the dead.

While the police surrounded the accident site, the medical teams took the injured to ambulances.

Crowded area ‘doesn’t seem safe’

100,000 revelers have gathered in Itaewon District to celebrate the first mask-free outdoor Halloween event since the start of the pandemic.

The area is a popular nightlife district in South Korea’s capital. While Halloween is not generally a major celebration in South Korea, Itaewon has an international cultural atmosphere and is the traditional venue for these parties.

Posts on social media in the early evening show that some people have commented that the Itaewon area is so crowded that it doesn’t feel safe.

BBC reporter Hosu? Lee, who visited the site, said he saw “many doctors, many ambulances, taking the bodies one by one”.

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Lee said there were thousands of people and a ton of police in the crowd, as well as several bodies covered in blue sheets.

“A lot of young people gathered here tonight. A lot of people came to the party and to the club, dressed in costumes, and a lot of people I saw were sad and sad – there are chaotic scenes,” Lee said.

Photos and videos show several first responders and civilians on the streets tending to seemingly unconscious people.

In one video, several rescuers appear to perform CPR on people in an alley.

In another, rescuers try to get people out of what looks like a pile of corpses after they get together.

Another local journalist urged an emergency broadcast to be sent to all mobile phones in Yongsan District, urging citizens to return to their homes as soon as possible due to “an emergency accident near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon”.

Raphael Rashid, a regular in the area, told the BBC that when he arrived at the scene, he noticed that before the tragedy, there were more people in the neighborhood than he had ever seen before.

“By 10 p.m. it was clear that there were a lot of people and something was already going on at that moment. There were tens of thousands of people, the biggest number I’ve ever seen,” he said.

“It got to the point where we were crushed on the pavement, we even had to occupy the street where the cars were.”

“At that moment, we heard that many firefighters, ambulances and police were trying to get through the crowd. No one really understood what was happening, but already several police officers were desperately asking people to leave the area as soon as possible.”

National Investigation and Mourning

Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said that some of the dead could not be identified yet, as they were under 17 years old and did not have IDs like adults.

After holding an emergency meeting, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered a special force to assist the victims. He also requested an investigation into the cause of the incident.

“My heart aches and I’m struggling to cope with the pain,” Yoon said as she declared national mourning.

– This text was originally published https://www.bbc.com/portuguese/internacional-63442414