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Update | 120 dead after Halloween crowd surge in Seoul

Published:Saturday | October 29, 2022 | 1:38 PM
Rescue workers and firefighters work on the scene of a crushing accident in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, October 29, 2022. (Lee Ji-eun/Yonhap via AP)

Officials says the death toll has soared to at least 120 people, with another 100 injured, in a crushing disaster during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea.

They say dozens of people were in cardiac arrest after being crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street.

More than 400 emergency workers and 140 vehicles from around the nation, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.

TV footage and photos from the scene showed ambulance vehicles lined up in streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers moving the injured in stretchers.

Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the streets. Multiple people, apparently among those injured, were seen covered in yellow blankets.

A local police officer said he was also informed that a stampede occurred on Itaewon's streets where a crowd of people gathered for Halloween festivities. 

Some local media reports earlier said the crush happened after a large number of people rushed to an Itaewon bar after hearing an unidentified celebrity visited there.

-AP

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