Key Points
- As many as 153 have died with many injured after a stampede in central Seoul.
- A huge crowd celebrating Halloween surged into an alley in a night life area of the South Korean capital.
An Australian has died in a crush in South Korea's capital that left 153 people dead and dozens injured at a Halloween event on Saturday night.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed it had been notified of the Australian's death in Seoul on Saturday night, local time.
A DFAT spokesperson said consular officials were assisting the deceased's family and also working to help other Australians present at the event.
"The Australian government sends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident," the spokesperson said.
The disaster happened as a huge crowd celebrating Halloween on Saturday night surged into an alley in a nightclub area, which is popular among young people, expatriates and travellers in Seoul.
'A terrible tragedy'
"Our sincere condolences for all affected by this terrible tragedy," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese tweeted on Sunday before news broke of the Australian's death.
Also earlier on Sunday, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Catherine Raper joined Mr Albanese in conveying Australia's condolences to the South Korean government, describing the incident as "tragic".
"We ask all Australians in Seoul to check in with friends and family to let them know your whereabouts," Ms Raper tweeted.
The crowd surge and crush hit Seoul's popular Itaewon district, where police estimate as many as 100,000 people — mostly in their teens and 20s — went to celebrate Halloween on Saturday night, clogging the area's narrow alleyways and winding streets.
Witnesses described scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd, people piling on top of one another, and paramedics, overwhelmed by the number of victims, asking passersby to administer first aid.
"There were so many people just being pushed around, and I got caught in the crowd, and I couldn't get out at first, too," 30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul told AFP. "I felt like an accident was bound to happen."
'Should not have happened'
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed a full investigation and declared a period of national mourning Sunday, telling the country in a televised address that "a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened".
He said the government "will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future".
"My heart is heavy, and it is difficult to contain my sorrow," he added before he visited the scene of the disaster and spoke to emergency workers.
Fire Department official Choi Seong-beom said the stampede occurred around 10 pm local time, killing 153 people, including foreigners.
Police officers work at the scene of a fatal crowd surge, in Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday, October 30 2022. Source: AAP / AP
"The high number of casualties was the result of many being trampled during the Halloween event," Mr Choi told reporters at the scene Sunday morning, adding that the death toll could climb.
Seoul authorities said they had also received 355 reports of missing people by early Sunday.
Cause of the stampede unknown
Officials said Sunday they had no clear idea of what caused the crush, while eyewitnesses described scenes of chaos as a vast crowd panicked in a narrow alleyway.
Local shopkeepers told AFP that the number of people at the annual celebration was "unprecedentedly large" this year — the first event to be held without COVID-19 restrictions since the pandemic began.
"There were so many people just being pushed around and I got caught in the crowd and I couldn't get out at first too," 30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul told AFP.
AFP photos from the scene showed scores of bodies spread on the pavement covered by bed sheets and emergency workers dressed in orange vests loading even more bodies on stretchers into ambulances.
In an interview with local broadcaster YTN, Lee Beom-suk, a doctor who administered first aid to the victims, described scenes of tragedy and chaos.
'Hard to describe'
"When I first attempted CPR there were two victims lying on the pavement. But the number exploded soon after, outnumbering first responders at the scene," Mr Lee said. "Many bystanders came to help us with CPR."
"It's hard to put in words to describe," he added. "So many victims' faces were pale. I could not catch their pulse or breath and many of them had a bloody nose. When I tried CPR, I also pumped blood out of their mouths."
The Yonhap news agency also quoted an unidentified witness as saying the person 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.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years after the country lifted COVID restrictions and social distancing. Many of the party-goers were wearing masks and Halloween costumes. Source: Getty / ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
US soldiers survive crush
Three off-duty American soldiers stationed in South Korea told AFP how they found themselves caught up in the crowd surge as they struggled to help.
The three were part of the crowd coming down the narrow, steep alleyway that became a death trap but were able to escape onto a ledge-like area at the side.
But just after they managed to leap out of the crowd "it started happening -- everybody just fell on top of each other like dominoes," Jarmil Taylor, 40, told AFP.
People at the top of the alleyway were trying to force their way down, even though the street was already rammed full — and then people began to fall.
"There were people on top of people — it was layers of people. They didn't have enough people there to help them at once," Mr Taylor, visibly dazed and tired, told AFP Sunday at the scene.
He and his friends would try to pull victims out of the crush and carry them to safety so that emergency responders could perform CPR, he said.
Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul, after thousands of people crowded into narrow streets in the city's Itaewon neighbourhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said. Source: Getty / ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP via Getty Images
'A fifteen foot layer of people'
Washington stations some 27,000 US troops in South Korea to help protect it against the nuclear-armed North, and Taylor and his friends are based at Camp Casey in Gyeonggi.
On their week off, they decided to go to the festivities at Itaewon, but said that when they found themselves in the huge crowd, they realised something was wrong.
"We were getting nervous too, we were in the middle of it, and that's why we got off to the side, and that's when it just fell apart," said Dane Beathard, 32.
People were crushed so tightly into the alleyway that emergency workers could not get them out of the packed crowd, he said.
"We helped pull people out all night ... It was a long time for people stuck in there not to breathe," Mr Beathard said.
"All of the people crushed were in the front, where they collapsed into a pile," he said, adding that at the worst points, it was "a fifteen foot layer of people".
Medical workers attend to victims following a deadly stampede the previous day during Halloween celebrations, in Seoul's Itaewon district, in Seoul, South Korea, 30 October 2022 Source: AAP / EPA
"We were screaming at them to back up, but it was too little too late," Augusta said.
The trio said they felt lucky to have survived.
"When we left there were bodies everywhere, everywhere," the three of them told AFP.
'Hoping for a quick recovery'
Twitter user @janelles_story shared a video that she said depicted scenes from Itaewon shortly before the stampede began, in which hundreds of young people, some clad in pirate, cowboy and other Halloween costumes, are seen in a narrow street lined with bars and cafes.
The crowd appears in good spirits and calm at first, but then a commotion begins, and people start being pushed and pressed into one another. Screams and gasps are heard, and a female voice cries out in English, "Shit, shit!" followed by "Oh my god, oh my god!"
Mr Choi said the victims' bodies are being transferred to a gym not far from the site of the stampede and to area hospitals to be identified.
Local television showed scores of ambulances streaming to the Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital, where some of the victims had been taken.
Officials had said earlier that 50 people were in cardiac arrest and that more than 140 ambulances were dispatched to the scene to aid the victims.
'Heartbreaking'
Meanwhile, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was on a visit to Europe, decided to return home in the wake of the accident, Yonhap reported, citing city officials.
In Washington, Seoul's staunch ally, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter that "the reports out of Seoul are heartbreaking."
"We are thinking about all those who lost loved ones and hoping for a quick recovery for those injured," Mr Sullivan said. "The United States stands ready to provide the Republic of Korea with any support it needs."
French President Emmanuel Macron offered his country's "heartfelt" support, adding that "France is by your side."
Seoul's staunch ally, US President Joe Biden, said America "stands with" South Korea after the tragedy, while Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said he was "hugely shocked and deeply saddened" by the disaster.
Emergency first aid
Ju Young Possamai, a bartender in the Itaewon district, said he had been to several Halloween celebrations in Korea and was shocked by the tragedy.
"It was very sad to see something that we never, never expected," Mr Possamai, 24, told AFP. "It's always crowded, but nothing like this has ever happened before."
This year's celebration is the first since the pandemic broke out in 2020 at which South Koreans have not been mandated to wear face masks outdoors.
Australians concerned about the welfare of loved ones in Seoul can call the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135. Those outside Australia can call +61 2 6261 3305.
- with AAP
