Al menos 120 personas murieron y 100 resultaron heridas el sábado en una aparente estampida de miles de personas aglutinadas en las estrechas calles de un barrio de Seúl, la capital de Corea del sur, para celebrar Halloween, informaron las autoridades.
«Hasta las 02H30 [del domingo], 120 murieron y 100 resultaron heridos», informó un funcionario del departamento de bomberos, Choi Sung-bum, a los periodistas en el lugar de los hechos.
Ambulances arrive on the scene where dozens of people suffered cardiac arrest in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. – Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul, after thousands of people crowded into narrow streets in the city’s Itaewon neighbourhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP) Rescue officials and police gather in the district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022, after a Halloween crush which left at least 120 people dead. – At least 120 people were killed on October 29 and some 100 were injured in a stampede in central Seoul when thousands crowded into narrow streets to celebrate Halloween, officials said. (Photo by Anthony WALLACE / AFP) Medical staff attend to a person on a stretcher in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. – Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul, after thousands of people crowded into narrow streets in the city’s Itaewon neighbourhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said. (Photo by JUNG YEON-JE / AFP) The body of a victim of a Halloween crush, which left at least 120 people dead, is transported on a stretcher in the district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. – At least 120 people were killed Saturday and some 100 were injured in a stampede in central Seoul when thousands crowded into narrow streets to celebrate Halloween, officials said on October 30. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) Medical staff transport a victim, believed to have suffered cardiac arrest, in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. – Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul, after thousands of people crowded into narrow streets in the city’s Itaewon neighbourhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP) Medical staff transport a victim, believed to have suffered cardiac arrest, in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon in Seoul on October 30, 2022. – Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul, after thousands of people crowded into narrow streets in the city’s Itaewon neighbourhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said. (Photo by Jung Yeon-je / AFP)
Poco antes, las autoridades habían ofrecido un primer balance de 59 fallecidos y 150 heridos.
El incidente ocurrió en el popular barrio de Itaewon, donde miles de personas se agolparon en sus estrechas calles para celebrar Halloween, precisaron las autoridades.
El presidente surcoreano, Yoon Suk-yeol, ordenó enviar equipos de primeros auxilios al lugar y pidió que los hospitales se preparasen para recibir a los heridos.
Fotografías publicadas por Yonhap mostraron a más de una decena de personas tendidas en una calle y socorristas dando masajes cardíacos a algunas de ellas.
Policías con chalecos amarillos acordonaron la zona y rescatistas cargaron algunas víctimas en camillas hacia las ambulancias.
En otras imágenes grabadas por video, se puede ver unos 20 cuerpos recubiertos con mantas.
Es la primera vez que se celebra Halloween en el país asiático desde el inicio de la pandemia de covid-19 en 2020.
