'100,000 Halloween' Large-Scale Crush Accident Near Itaewon Station on the Way Home

At Least 20 Casualties Reported
Fire Department Issues Level 3 Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] On the 29th, a massive crowd gathered at a festival held in the Itaewon area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, ahead of Halloween Day, resulting in a large-scale crush accident.

According to the police and fire authorities, around 11 p.m. that day, an accident presumed to be a crush occurred in the Itaewon area of Seoul, causing multiple patients to go into cardiac arrest. Near the Hamilton Hotel, it was reported that about 20 people were receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) around 11:30 p.m.

The accident is estimated to have occurred near Itaewon Station to the left of the Hamilton Hotel, where citizens heading home became entangled with each other. The fire authorities issued a Level 3 response from around 11:50 p.m. due to concerns about additional casualties.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, numerous parties were held throughout the Itaewon area ahead of Halloween Day, attracting a crowd estimated by the police to be over 100,000 people.

The police deployed about 200 personnel to monitor the surroundings in preparation for any possible accidents during the Halloween period. The police had originally planned to conduct drug raids targeting nearby clubs that day but canceled them due to the presumed crush accident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.