Latest South Korea Halloween updates : 146 killed in crowd crush

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In Washington — Seoul’s staunch ally — White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said 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,” Sullivan said. “The United States stands ready to provide the Republic of Korea with any support it needs.”

In an interview with local broadcaster YTN, Lee Beom-suk, a doctor who administered first aid to the victims, describes scenes of tragedy and chaos.

“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,” Lee said. “Many bystanders came to help us with CPR.”

“It’s hard to put in words to describe,” he said. “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.”

Al Jazeera’s Musun Kim reporting from Seoul said that some firefighters had been on standby in the district, “just in case an incident happens, but they were no match to deal with this kind of a major incident”.

In an interview with news channel YTN, Hwang Min-hyeok, one of the visitors to Itaewon, says it was shocking to see rows of bodies laid down in the alley near Hamilton Hotel.

He said emergency workers were initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians struggling to administer CPR to the injured lying on the streets. People cried beside bodies, he said.

One survivor has said many people fell and toppled on one another “like dominos”, after being pushed by other people at a narrow downhill alley near Itaewon’s Hamilton Hotel.

The survivor, surnamed Kim, said some people shouted “Help me!” and others were short of breath. Kim described being trampled by other people for about 1.5 hours before being rescued, according to the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.

Emergency workers have tried to resuscitate more than 50 people, according to South Korean news agency Yonhap.

Witnesses said the narrow streets around the scene of the crush were so crowded that it was difficult for the emergency services to make their way through to help the victims.

According to Yonhap, a total of 142 rescue vehicles were deployed.

More than 1,700 response personnel from across the country were deployed, including about 520 firefighters, 1,100 police officers and 70 government workers. The National Fire Agency said in a statement that all of Seoul’s available emergency workers have been mobilised.

Journalist Raphael Rashid, who was near the scene of the stampede when it occurred, told Al Jazeera that tens of thousands of people had been parading and partying in the streets, so much so that one “couldn’t move”.

“It was chock-a-block. A walk down the pavement that would [normally] take one minute, was taking 20 minutes; you couldn’t move,” Rashid said.

“This was definitely the biggest crowd I’ve ever seen [in Itaewon]. It’s Halloween, one of the biggest partying events of the year in Seoul, and secondly this is the first Halloween in several years where people are finally able to go out and party, given several years of COVID restrictions that we’ve had.

“Today was a major party event in many young people’s calendars and I think that is one of the reasons why we saw so many people coming out tonight.”

French President Emmanuel Macron has offered France’s “heartfelt” support to South Korea.

“Heartfelt thoughts for the residents of Seoul and for the entire Korean people after the tragedy at Itaewon. France is by your side,” Macron said on Twitter.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called the news from Seoul “horrific”.

“All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time,” Sunak said on Twitter.

The Yonhap news agency has 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.