[ad_1]
An Australian is among the victims of South Korea‘s Halloween stampede, where more than 150 people killed in a horror crowd crush.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed the news on Sunday as the department continues ‘urgent inquiries’ to assist other Australians caught up in the chaos.
At least one other dual citizen is in intensive care in a stable condition amid reports several other Aussies were injured.
‘The Australian embassy in Seoul has been notified of the death of an Australian at the tragic event in Seoul,’ DFAT said.
‘Consular officers from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade are providing consular assistance to the individual’s family in Australia.
‘Consular officials are also assisting a number of other Australians who were present at the event.
‘The Australian government sends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident. We ask for the family’s privacy to be respected during this difficult time.’
An Australian man reacts while looking for his friend’s name on the list of missing people at a community service center after a stampede during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea, October 30, 2022
Australian leaders Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong were shaken by the crisis
The massive stampede in Seoul left at least 151 people dead and hundreds more injured on Saturday with emergency services overwhelmed after a fatal crush amongst a 100,000-strong crowd on a narrow street during Halloween festivities.
An official from the National Fire Agency initially said around 100 people were injured during the deadly crowd surge on Saturday night, but the figure rapidly grew.
It is believed that 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon to attend the city’s 2022 Halloween Festival, the first time it has been held at this size since Covid, with the crush occurring shortly after 10pm local time.
Officials confirmed that dozens of people went into cardiac arrest and the number of deaths is still expected to rise. An unspecified number remain in a critical condition in hospital.
Photos from the scene showed at least 25 bodies lying on the ground in the streets of Seoul, concealed by yellow blankets. A separate line of bodies covered in blue blankets was also photographed.
As the full scale of the tragedy was still being realised, South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Sunday morning that the deadly stampede ‘should not have happened’.
‘In the centre of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened,’ Yoon said in a national address, vowing to ‘thoroughly investigate’ the incident and ensure it could never happen again.
Emergency workers urgently try to extricate those most in need of medical assistance from the crowd
At least 149 people are known to have died, with a further 150 people injured in the crush. Dozens are said to be in a critical condition in hospital
Left: The alleyway is seen early on Sunday morning. It remained cordoned off as police continued their investigations into the tragedy. Right: The same alleyway is seen shortly before the crush. Hundreds of people are shown packed in
Distressing images of several sites lined with bodies around the area have emerged, with the tragedy being one of the most deadly in the last 30 years
At least 25 bodies were left lying on the ground with makeshift shrouds to conceal them from public view in the immediate aftermath of the incident
Those caught in the crush were left shocked, checking their phones to try and contact missing loved ones or hugging one another
The incident on Saturday night led to 140 ambulances being deployed to help treat and evacuate the injured
According to local emergency responders, many of the victims were women in their 20s, and most were teenagers or in their early twenties. A makeshift morgue was set up in an adjacent building due to the sheer number of fatalities.
Officials added it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul, upon hearing rumours a celebrity was nearby.
Dozens of people were given CPR on Itaewon’s streets while many others have been taken to nearby hospitals.
One witness described the height of the crush: ‘People were layered on top of others like a tomb. Some were gradually losing their consciousness while some looked dead by that point.’
Photographs and videos on social media show horrific scenes of panic in the aftermath of the crush, and people’s desperate efforts to escape from the building tragedy.
One particularly distressing video showed dozens of people struggling to breathe and stay on their feet in the crowd as rescue workers attempted to extricate those most in need of medical assistance from the throng.
More than 1,700 emergency workers were deployed from across South Korea to respond to one of the deadliest crowd crushes in recent history. More footage overlooking the street showed dozens of emergency responders working desperately to administer CPR to victims lying on the street.
An exhausted young woman is carried away from the scene to safety after becoming caught up in the night’s events
Piles of belongings and dried pools of blood litter the streets of the capital in the aftermath of the crowd surge
Parts of costumes were scattered around the scene of the deadly crush hours after it occurred, as police began their investigation into the cause
Police officers guard the scene on Sunday morning after thousands became trapped in this tiny alleyway
The majority of those who have died after the crush in this narrow alley are said to be teenagers or in their 20s
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol (centre) attends an emergency meeting after the tragic crowd crush in Seoul
Investigators expect the scene and leftover debris in the narrow alley in Itaewon in the early hours of Sunday morning local time
Rescue workers and firefighters try to help injured people near the scene in Seoul, South Korea
Emergency workers remove a body from the streets of Seoul after a deadly crush is confirmed to have killed at least 146 people
Revelers dressed in Halloween costumes are seen leaving the scene after a crush killed at least 146 people in Seoul
The scale of the emergency response in Seoul has seen emergency workers called from across the country, including 140 ambulances
Emergency workers stand waiting with stretchers for more casualties to be removed from the area as police guard victims from view
The bodies of victims, believed to have suffered from cardiac arrest, were covered with sheets in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul
Police officers have begun to investigate the circumstances which led up to the tragedy in Seoul on Saturday night
One man was pictured climbing an almost flat wall high above the crowd to escape the panic beneath him.
Video on social media showed dozens of motionless figures lying on the ground in the aftermath of the incident while dozens more emergency workers and members of the public worked intensely around them.
Most of the figures were being given CPR and are thought to have had cardiac arrests.
The deadly incident occurred when the densely packed crowd surged into a narrow alleyway.
Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the sloped alley, crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them to free.
A Reuters witness said a make-shift morgue was set up in a building adjacent to the scene. About four dozen bodies were carried out later on wheeled stretchers and moved to a government facility to identify the victims, according to the witness.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said the death toll could rise as emergency workers were continuing to transport the injured to hospitals across Seoul following the stampede in the leisure district of Itaewon on Saturday night.
He added an unspecified number among the injured were in critical conditions following the stampede. It is thought at least 100 other people were hurt.
The stampede took place around 10.20pm (1300 GMT) and according to Choi many of the victims were trampled to death.
‘The high number of casualties was the result of many being trampled during the Halloween event,’ Choi said, adding that the death toll could climb.
He said that many of those killed in the incident were young women in their 20s.
Hundreds of police officers had been deployed to the area in advance of Saturday night in anticipation of the large crowds, but they were reportedly struggling to keep control in the minutes before the tragedy unfolded.
The party district in South Korea was packed with people celebrating Halloween for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic
A young women leaves the area where the Halloween festival was taking place, clearly shocked by the aftermath of the crush
Emergency workers treat some of those injured in the crush, covering them with foil blankets to keep them warm
Police officers are already in the process of gathering evidence and collecting people’s belongings which were left on the ground
More than 1,700 emergency workers have been deployed to the scene including drivers of 140 ambulances
An official from the National Fire Agency said 149 people are known to have died, but the figure is set to rise with an undisclosed number remaining in a critical condition in hostpial
Scenes of shock and horror followed the fatal crush amongst those caught up in the crowd. Many of those caught up in the crush had to be treated and kept warm with foil blankets
Onlookers stand shocked as emergency service workers cordon off the streets close to where the crush occurred, with 22 bodies initially left lying in the street as paramedics rushed to save some of the victims
All types of emergency workers rushed to the scene in a desperate bid to save the lives of those involved
Rescue workers carry an injured person to the hospital in Seoul. Temporary tents have been set up by emergency services around the capital to treat those wounded in the crowd
A woman caught up in the horrifying incident is helped by emergency workers, who appear to be taking her to receive medical treatment
As well as the 1,700-strong emergency worker response, 15 ‘disaster’ medical teams were also deployed from around South Korea to help in the aftermath of the crush.
But emergency services were initially vastly overstretched and overwhelmed, resulting in dozens of passers-by and eyewitnesses trying to assist those injured and dying.
Reports from local media suggest Seoul has set up a roster for those worried about loved ones to find information.
In an interview with news channel YTN, Hwang Min-hyeok, a visitor to Itaewon, said emergency workers were initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians struggling to administer CPR to the injured lying on the streets. People wailed beside the bodies of their friends, he said.
Another survivor in his 20s said he avoided being trampled by managing to get into a bar whose door was open at the alley, Yonhap news agency reported. A woman in her 20s surnamed Park said she and others were standing along the side of the alley while others caught in the middle of the alley had no escape.
Thousands of people piled into the narrow alley where they became trapped, causing many to suffer from cardiac arrest as they were crushed
At least 100,000 people headed to the Halloween Festival in Seoul, creating a large crowd which ultimately ended in tragedy
Emergency services rushed to the scene where they said at least 100 were injured
At least 50 people are thought to have gone into cardiac arrest during the incident, but no official number has been confirmed
Paramedics treat some of those caught up in the stampede in the minutes after the incident
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak paid his condolences to people in South Korea as he described the news coming out of the country as ‘horrific’.
He said: ‘Horrific news from Seoul tonight.
‘All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.’
Labour Leader Keir Starmer said: ‘My thoughts are with the families and friends of those lost.’
French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: ‘Heartfelt thoughts with the residents of Seoul and for all Koreans this evening after the tragedy in Itaewon.
‘France is by your side.’
US President Joe Biden sent his condolences, saying the United States ‘stands with’ South Korea.
‘We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured,’ Biden said in a statement.
He added on Twitter: ‘Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul.
‘We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and wish for a quick recovery to all those who were injured. The United States stands with the Republic of Korea during this tragic time.’
Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspur also put out a statement in light of the tragic incident. One of their star players, Son Heung-min, is originally from South Korea.
The Yonhap news agency in South Korea quoted an unidentified witness as saying he saw victims crushed to death.
‘People were layered on top of others like a tomb. Some were gradually losing their consciousness while some looked dead by that point,’ the witness said, according to Yonhap.
Earlier in the night it was reported that 74 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of at least 46 had been kept on the streets and were being transported to a nearby gym so that workers could identify them.
Officials say people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.
The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.
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.
More than 1,700 response personnel from across the country were deployed, including about 520 firefighters and 1,100 police officers and 70 government workers.
Every available worker in the capital was deployed to help.
This included 140 ambulances who rushed to treat people at the scene after thousands headed into a narrow street in the capital’s party district.
Police officers have been pictured beginning their investigations into the incident, including gathering items of interest from the ground.
As the sun rose on Seoul, dozens remained near the scene to ensure its security.
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.
Videos online appear to show people climbing the walls of the street in order to escape the crush, and being lowered a significant distant to neighbouring streets.
Horrific images and videos showed dozens of people lying on the ground with emergency workers and members of the public performing CPR. Some bodies lay on the ground after efforts to revive them had ceased.
Meanwhile images of lines of bodies covered by blue and yellow blankets have also emerged.
Among those being treated by emergency workers appeared to be some children.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement calling for officials to ensure swift treatment for those injured and review the safety of the festivity sites.
Seoul’s mayor Oh Se-hoon is currently out of the country on a visit to Europe but has decided to return home following the news.
Emergency workers try to keep casualties warm as they wait to receive medical attention
The President of South Korea held an emergency meeting because of the incident and told emergency workers to prioritise the evacuation of people from the area
The area was flooded with emergency workers who have arrived from across the nation to help in the tragedy
The scene was chaotic in the period before and after the crush as dozens of people tried to save the lives of those affected
The Itaewon district is a popular hotspot for Halloween celebrations, especially this year as it was the first time the Halloween Festival could take place since 2019
He is reportedly already on his way back to South Korea.
The city’s government have issued an emergency alert to all mobile phones telling people to go home as soon as they can to clear the area.
Local media are reporting that President Yeol chaired an emergency meeting and has ordered that treating and evacuating people from the area should be the top priorities.
They added that around 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon streets for the Halloween festivities, which were the biggest in years following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in recent months.
‘You would see big crowds at Christmas and fireworks…but this was several ten-folds bigger than any of that,’ Park Jung-hoon, 21, told reporters at the scene.
Authorities are looking into the exact cause of the incident.
[ad_2]
Source link
