At least 146 people died and 150 were injured in one obvious crowd increase during a crowded Halloween festival in Seoul on Saturday night, according to Yongsan Fire Department Chief.
Here are the latest developments.
The death toll may increase: With local hospitals treating dozens of people injured during the Halloween emergency in Seoul, the death toll likely to increase, a local health official said. Choi Jae-won, head of Yongsan Medical Center, added that the cause of those injured and dead in the incident has yet to be officially confirmed.
Officially to blame for the increase in crowds: A local fire official has described the emergency as a “supposed stampede,” but the investigation has only just begun. Some specific injury details have been provided. Yonhap News Agency report Dozens of people experienced “cardiac arrest” and difficulty breathing.
The authorities said the emergency is not caused by a gas leak or fire at a popular nightclub. They began receiving reports of people “buried” in the crowd there around 10:24 p.m. local time (9:24 a.m. ET) Saturday.
Witnesses observe the chaos: A witness said people got stuck on a narrow and breathless street. Song Sehyun told CNN, “I saw people going to the left and I saw that person going to the opposite side. “The person in the middle is stuck so they have no way of communicating. They can’t breathe.”
CNN’s Will Ripley reported that a long line of stretchers formed on the street will be used to remove bodies from the scene.
