At least 153 people have been confirmed dead while 133 others were seriously injured during the Halloween celebration at the popular nightclub district of Itaewon, the South Korean capital of Seoul on Saturday.



According to witness reports, an unknown event caused panic among tens of thousands of people who flocked to the celebrations on the streets of the Itaewon neighbourhood.

Several people were crushed and injured during commotion caused by the crowd surge and since the tightly packed streets in the district were too narrow, the movement became restricted as the air around became thin.

Efforts of first emergency responders to help were also hampered by part of the crowd who confused their official uniforms for Halloween costumes.

The loud playing music and noise of the partygoers made it difficult to alert the party that something had gone wrong.

According to Seoul Metropolitan Police, they are still investigating the exact cause of the crash.


The authorities revealed that among the 153 dead were 26 foreign nationals from 14 countries mostly in their teens and early 20s.

Videos that went viral online showed people performing compressions on other partygoers lying on the ground before help arrived.