Halloween parties in South Korea turned into scenes of true terror on Saturday, as stampedes sent roughly 50 people to the hospital in a state of cardiac arrest, according to dispatches from Seoul.
The nightmare took place in the capital’s chic Itaewon neighborhood, where as many as 100,000 people reportedly came to party for the first Halloween since the easing of pandemic safety precautions.
Though authorities have yet to report any deaths, according to The Korean Herald, the number of those injured could top 100.
However, the BBC reported that, in South Korea, public declarations of a “cardiac arrest” often precede official notice of fatalities.
The exact cause of the sudden crush of people is as yet unclear, although multiple reports have placed the tragedy in the vicinity of the Hamilton Hotel, a popular destination in the city.
Local authorities deployed 142 fire department vehicles to the site, and Mayor Oh Se-hoon reportedly made hasty arrangements to return home from a trip to Europe.
Videos posted to social media reportedly from around the time of the incident show streets congested with a multinational crowd.
Others later showed motionless bodies on the ground as rescue crews hurried and multiple people attempted CPR.
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