South Korea stampede death toll rises to 151

At least 151 people died and more than 82 were injured in a crowd crush in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, central Seoul, according to fire authorities at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, reports Koreaherald.com.

The fire department began to receive reports of patients having difficulty breathing at 10:22 p.m. on Saturday.

Of the people who died, more than 100 were transferred to the hospital. The remaining bodies were kept on site and later moved to a nearby multi-purpose indoor gymnasium. Identifying the deceased is expected to take some time, according to fire officials.

Most of the dead were in their 20s. Officials expect that the number of casualties will continue to rise throughout the day.

Officials confirmed that 19 foreigners were among the dead as of 10:30 a.m. on Sunday. Among the foreign nationals who died were people from Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway.

The death toll is currently made up of 97 women and 54 men.

Around 100,000 people were in the entertainment district throughout the day on Saturday to celebrate the first Halloween weekend without mask and social distancing measures since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Following reports of the incident, President Yoon Suk-yeol said, “All related ministries and agencies, led by the minister of public administration and security, should make every effort to promptly provide aid to the victims,” according to Lee Jae-myung, a deputy presidential office spokesperson.

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday declared national mourning period over a stampede during Halloween festivities