Summary

  • Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has vowed a "thorough investigation" into the cause of the tragedy

  • Funerals for some of the 154 victims have begun taking place

  • The victims - mostly in their 20s and more women than men - had thronged a popular nightlife district for Halloween

  • It was the first outdoor no-mask Halloween event with no limit on numbers since the pandemic

  • The crush began in a narrow alley, but officials don't yet know the cause or the circumstances that led to it

  • The foreign ministry says 26 foreign nationals are among the dead, Reuters reports

  1. How and why crowd surge deaths happenpublished at 16:17 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    BBC graphic showing stampede in SeoulImage source, .

    Crowd surges have had deadly consequences in incidents across the world, with people squeezed into a space so tight they struggle to breathe.

    Although South Korean officials are yet to identify what caused the surge in Seoul or how it happened so fast, an academic at the University of Pennsylvania says many of the victims may have been trampled and suffocated under the weight of others.

    Speaking to the New York Times, Prof Norman Badlersays people can suffocate even while standing because of the excessive crowd density surrounding them.

  2. High number of women among those who diedpublished at 15:59 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Celia Hatton
    BBC Asia Pacific Regional Editor

    High heel and a plastic pumpkin at the scene of a stampede in SeoulImage source, Reuters

    We are still hearing reports of distraught relatives who are visiting hospitals and a missing persons' centre in Seoul in an effort to find absent family members.

    Police now say that they have identified almost all of the people who were killed or injured in Itaewon on Saturday.

    However, they are also warning that the death toll is expected to rise, after 37 people sustained serious injuries.

    So far, we know that women were disproportionately affected by the overwhelming crowds that filled Itaewon's narrow streets - 97 of the 154 confirmed dead were female.

    Officials have surmised that is because women with smaller frames were unable to fight their way out of the crush of people, but that is just a theory at this stage.

    Several female survivors of the crush have spoken of their panic when they felt they could not move or breathe, with some saying they were trapped for up to an hour before breaking free.

  3. Survivor: 'People were suffocating, screaming... falling'published at 15:39 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Nuhyil Ahammed
    Image caption,

    Nuhyil Ahammed: "I couldn't sleep last night - I can still see people dying in front of me"

    Survivors have been speaking of their horror at watching friends and strangers suffocate in an alleyway as dance music blared into the night.

    "People began pushing from behind, it was like a wave - there was nothing you could do," said Nuhyil Ahammed.

    "I couldn't sleep last night. I can still see people dying in front of me."

    The 32-year-old had been caught in the crush and says there was nothing anyone could have done to save others or themselves.

    Nuhyil, an IT worker who lives in Seoul, said he had attended the Halloween party here for the last five years.

    Last year there were more police in the area, he said, but this year the crowd was unlike anything he had seen before but there was "no crowd control".

    As soon as he and his friends got caught in the crowd, he knew something was wrong.

    "Even if you stand still, someone pushes you from the front and someone from the back. It happened a few times. I realised something was wrong. I felt afraid something was going to happen."

    He said he fell but managed to make his way to steps along the side of the alley: "A women with angel's wings - she beckoned me and I managed to climb onto a high step," he said.

    "People were suffocating, screaming... getting squeezed... falling... there were just too many people."

    "I was on the step just watching everything happening."

    Read more here.

  4. What's the latest?published at 15:27 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Flowers laid at scene of stampede tragedyImage source, EPA

    It's past midnight in Seoul. Here is a recap of what has happened so far:

    • At least 154 people have died and a further 133 have been injured in a crowd crush on Saturday evening in South Korea's capital, Seoul
    • It happened in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon where about 100,000 people gathered for the first event since Covid where crowd sizes were not limited and there was no need to wear a mask outside
    • Experts and investigators do not yet know what triggered the crush
    • Eyewitnesses have described how they tried to resuscitate those injured despite having no experience of administering CPR
    • Police have identified 153 of the dead and informed their families, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reports
    • Of those who have died, 97 were women and 56 were men
    • At least 20 foreign nationals are among the dead, including four Chinese people, four Iranians, three Russians and two US citizens.
    • World leaders, including US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping, have offered their condolences and support to South Korea
    • The Pope and Prince and Princess of Wales have also offered their sympathies
  5. People were traumatised - journalist at the scenepublished at 14:56 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    William Gallo, Seoul bureau chief for Voice of America, was in Itaewon on Saturday and has been speaking to the BBC World Service.

    "As I approached the scene, you saw people heading in the other direction, streaming out - some of them were crying, some people had been drinking a lot that night, and other people were just obviously traumatised," he says.

    Gallo says there are legitimate questions to ask about how this incident was able to unfold.

    He says that it was a wild night of partying which could account for why many people who have been reported missing have not contacted their families.

    Police say 153 out of 154 people known to have died have been identified and their families have been notified.

  6. Pope, Prince and Princess of Wales express condolencespublished at 14:29 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Pope FrancisImage source, RICCARDO ANTIMIANI/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

    Messages of condolences continue to be sent - in the last hour the Prince and Princess of Wales have shared their sentiments.

    A message on the Kensington Palace Twitter account said: "Catherine and I send all our love and prayers to the parents, families and loved ones of those tragically lost in Seoul yesterday evening. W & C."

    Pope Francis also paid tribute during his weekly blessing in St Peter's Square.

    Speaking to pilgrims and tourists Pope Francis said: "Let us also pray to the risen Lord for those, especially young people, who died tonight in Seoul from the tragic consequences of a sudden crush crowd."

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is among world leaders who have also expressed condolences. In a Telegram post he said: "We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured."

  7. Number of dead rises to 154published at 14:13 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022
    Breaking

    At least 154 people died in the crush on Saturday night, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency says.

    Of those who died, 98 were women and 56 were men.

    Police have identified 153 of the dead and informed their families, Yonhap news agency reports.

    The identity of one unidentified deceased is still being checked, the South Korean news agency says.

    Another 133 were injured in the disaster, according to the fire department.

  8. Two US citizens among the dead - embassypublished at 13:45 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Person pays tribute near to the scene of a fatal stampede in SeoulImage source, Reuters

    Two US citizens were among the fatalities from last night's crush, the US embassy in Seoul has just confirmed.

    The US ambassador to the Republic of Korea Philip Goldberg said: "I am deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives last night, to include two young Americans celebrating alongside their Korean friends and other from around the world."

    The embassy said it was working with local authorities in Seoul and supporting the families of those affected.

  9. Painful search for news of missing relativespublished at 13:26 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Jean Mackenzie
    Seoul correspondent

    A community centre in South Korea where people are coming to report their missing loved ones

    This is the community centre where families have been coming to report their missing loved ones.

    It's here where they find out if they’re on the list of people who are known to have died, and while we’ve been here we’ve seen people receive this terrible news.

    Others have turned up and been given no news, and this can be almost as hard to process.

    I spoke to one mother whose 22-year-old son was working in Itaewon last night in one of the clubs - she told me she hadn't heard from him and had been calling him ever since.

  10. Most of the dead now identified - reportpublished at 13:04 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    We're now hearing that the majority of those found dead after the stampede have been identified.

    Police say 141 out of 153 people known to have died have been identified and their families have been notified, the South Korean news agency Yonhap reports.

    It also says 133 people were injured, and cites officials saying 37 of those sustained serious injuries.

  11. Witness describes watching people gasping for breathpublished at 12:47 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Jean Mackenzie
    Seoul correspondent

    The alleyway in Itaewon where the crush took place
    Image caption,

    The alleyway where the crush took place

    We’re starting to get more details of what happened in that narrow and overcrowded alleyway where the crush started.

    I spoke to one man who was in the alleyway during the crush. He’d managed to get to the side and had climbed up on a platform to stay safe, but he saw a lot of what was happening.

    He described how people were so packed in that they couldn’t move. They started being pushed one way and another. People were pushed to the floor and some people were squeezed so tightly that they couldn't breathe. He told me how he watched people gasping for breath, trying to get some air into their lungs.

  12. Itaewon - storied nightlife district where disaster happenedpublished at 12:36 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Fan Wang
    BBC News, Singapore

    Itaewon in 2020Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Itaewon, seen in 2020

    The Seoul district of Itaewon with its narrow streets and alleys crammed with bars and other businesses has been a landmark of South Korea's vibrant nightlife culture for decades.

    It has been featured in multiple K-dramas and K-pop songs, such as Itaewon Class, which was aired by Netflix in 2020.

    Its reputation took a dive in the 1990s over a notorious murder in a Burger King restaurant and other crimes. But it then regained a name for embracing diverse cultures from around the world and was once again a go-to spot for trendy young people.

    These days Itaewon is one of the most popular neighbourhoods in Seoul for a night out. Locals and foreigners flock there every weekend, but Halloween is one of the busiest nights of the year.

    The area was hosting its event without Covid restrictions on mask wearing or the numbers attending.

    "After two years of Covid restrictions, this is where everyone wants to go," says Ana, a student from Spain who was in the area when the crush happened.

    Now the country is reeling from the scale of the disaster that has taken place there - young people crushed to death as they were out celebrating.

    As they mourn, some local business owners are not optimistic for the area's future.

    "After all this, would people come to Itaewon now? They won't," Park Geun-ho, who has run businesses in the district for nearly 30 years, told Reuters.

  13. How many foreign nationals were killed?published at 12:06 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    A man bows as he mourns those killed in the stampede in SeoulImage source, EPA

    The picture regarding the deaths of foreign nationals is not fully clear. South Korean police have told the BBC that 25 foreign nationals died in last night’s incident, while the Ministry of Public Administration and Security currently puts the figure at 20.

    Although information is still emerging, here’s what we know so far about the number of foreigners killed:

    • Xinhua has reported that four Chinese nationals died, and two others suffered minor injuries
    • Four Iranians died and one was injured, according to IRNA, the country’s news agency
    • A 29-year-old Thai woman was among the dead, the country’s foreign ministry told the BBC – she had travelled to the country to study Korean for two months
    • Three Russian women died, Tass news agency reports
    • One Norwegian was killed, a spokesperson for the country’s foreign ministry said
    • South Korea's Yonhap news agency reports that people from the United States, France, Australia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and Austria are among the dead

    An update is expected at 2300 local time (1600 GMT).

  14. 'We barely managed to get out'published at 11:50 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Travel blogger Sia Liljas

    Travel blogger Sia Liljas was in Itaewon last night and tells the BBC News Channel she and her husband "barely managed to get out" from the crowds.

    Ms Liljas says she posted a video of the crowds on social media at 22:21, just as reports were coming in that people had fallen in the crowd.

    She says they started walking on a street that "felt quite spacious" but the area got "tighter and tighter".

    "We started noticing that people just wanted to move forward, so they started pushing, laughing a little bit [and] pushing for fun," she tells the BBC.

    "The crowd started pushing back; the pushing intensified... I remember turning to my husband and saying 'This doesn't feel right, we need to get out of here'."

    Ms Liljas says her knees and legs were shaking at the sheer effort it took for her and her husband to push their way out of the crowd.

    "As we went onto another street, we just heard ambulance after ambulance after ambulance and we knew something was going on."

  15. No triggering moment - local editorpublished at 11:27 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Jen Moon, chief editor at Arirang TV in Seoul, tells the BBC World Service that experts and investigators do not know what triggered the crush.

    "There seems to not have been one triggering moment," she says.

  16. If you're just joining uspublished at 11:11 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    It's just past 20:00 in Seoul. Here's a recap of what happened

    • At least 153 people have died and a further 82 have been injured in a crowd crush on Saturday evening in South Korea's capital, Seoul
    • Authorities say most of those killed were in their teens and 20s
    • The crush happened in the vibrant nightlife district of Itaewon where about 100,000 people had gathered for the first event since Covid where crowd sizes were not limited and there was no need to wear a mask outside
    • At least 20 foreign nationals are also among the dead, including four Iranians and a 29-year-old woman from Thailand.
    • Eyewitnesses have described how they tried to resuscitate those injured despite having no experience of administering CPR
    • South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a national mourning period
    • Meanwhile the interior minister says officials did not expect so many people would flock to the district's narrow streets and said many officers had been deployed elsewhere in the capital
    • World leaders, including UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jinping, have sent condolences and offers of support to South Korea
  17. Narrow and sloping - the alley where crush happenedpublished at 10:49 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Media caption,

    The BBC's Jean Mackenzie reports from the scene

  18. 'I was trying to do CPR, but they were both dead'published at 10:28 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    Fan Wang
    BBC News, Singapore

    Ana, a 24-year-old from Spain, was asked to help try to resuscitate victims by carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on them, despite never having done it before.

    She and her friend, 19-year-old Melissa from Germany had been at a bar next to where the crush happened and were trying to leave at about 23:00 local time (14:00 GMT) when they saw ambulances coming in and police running around asking people to move to make space for bring out the dead and injured.

    “There were so many people that they needed normal people to do CPR. So everyone started jumping in and help. We had two friends who knew how to do CPR and they went out to help," Ana told the BBC.

    "Thirty minutes later or maybe more, they came back, looking so traumatized and crying. Because they tried to save five or six people and they all died in my friends’ hands.”

    “So then I went out and I had to help two girls. I don’t know how to do CPR but I was following the instructions of the people out there.

    "They were telling me how to hold their heads and open their mouths, and things like that. I was trying to help but they were both dead as well. I have to say all the people they were bringing in to do CPR, most of them were already not breathing so they couldn’t do anything.

    “We couldn’t do anything, that was the main trauma.”

  19. Timeline of the disasterpublished at 09:59 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    timeline
  20. We did not expect so many people - interior ministerpublished at 09:43 Greenwich Mean Time 30 October 2022

    South Korea's Interior Minister Lee Sang-min says officials did not anticipate that 100,000 people would flock to Itaewon's narrow streets.

    He also defended the decision not to send more police to the area in advance and said many officers had been deployed elsewhere in the capital on Saturday evening.

    "I am not certain about the exact number of police personnel deployed [to Itaewon] but a considerable number had been deployed at Gwanghwamun where a large crowd was expected for a protest," he told a briefing earlier today.

    "The expected size of the crowd in Itaewon did not deviate much from the previous years, so I understand that the personnel were deployed at a similar scale as before."

    Lee Sang-Min says some victims had not yet been identified because they were below the age of 17 or did not have an adult ID.