At least 149 dead and scores critical after Halloween party stampede

A massive stampede has left at least 146 people dead and hundreds more injured after a fatal crush amongst a 100,000-strong crowd on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital Seoul.

An official from the National Fire Agency initially said around 100 people were injured during the deadly crowd surge on Saturday night in the Itaewon leisure district of Seoul.

It is believed that hundreds of thousands had gathered in Itaewon, Seoul to attend the city's 2022 Halloween Festival, but a crush occurred shortly after 10pm local time. 

Officials had previously confirmed that dozens of people went into cardiac arrest and the number of deaths is expected to rise. Hundreds more were injured, dozens of whom are in a critical condition in hospital.

Photos from the scene appear to show at least 25 bodies on the ground, concealed by yellow blankets. A separate line of bodies covered in blue blankets has also been photographed.

According to local emergency responders, many of the victims were women in their 20s. 

Officials added it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.

Police said dozens of people are being given CPR on Itaewon streets while many others have been taken to nearby hospitals. One witness described the height of the crush as a 'tomb'.

Photographs and videos on social media show horrific scenes of panic in the aftermath of the crush, and people's desperate efforts to evade the tragedy. 

One particularly distressing video showed dozens of people struggling to breathe and stay on their feet in the crowd as rescue workers attempted to extricate those most in need of medical assistance from the stampede. 

Emergency workers urgently try to extricate those most in need of medical assistance from the crowd

At least 146 people are known to have died, with a further 150 people injured in the crush. Dozens are said to be in a critical condition in hospital

A young women leaves the area where the Halloween festival was taking place, clearly shocked by the aftermath of the crush

Dozens of people have reportedly died after a huge crush in the South Korean capital Seoul 

An exhausted young woman is carried away from the scene to safety after becoming caught up in the night's events

Piles of belongings and dried pools of blood litter the streets of the capital in the aftermath of the crowd surge

South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol (centre) attends an emergency meeting after the tragic crowd crush in Seoul

Rescue workers and firefighters try to help injured people near the scene in Seoul, South Korea

Emergency workers remove a body from the streets of Seoul after a deadly crush is confirmed to have killed at least 146 people

Revelers dressed in Halloween costumes are seen leaving the scene after a crush killed at least 146 people in Seoul 

The scale of the emergency response in Seoul has seen emergency workers called from across the country, including 140 ambulances

Emergency workers stand waiting with stretchers for more casualties to be removed from the area as police guard victims from view

Police officers have begun to investigate the circumstances which led up to the tragedy in Seoul on Saturday night