SEOUL, KOREA — At least 151 people died and more than 82 were injured in a crowd crush in Seoul during a Halloween celebration late Saturday (29 Oct), according to the latest figures from fire authorities at 10.30 a.m. on Sunday.

Around 100,000 people were in the entertainment district throughout the day on Saturday to partake in the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years after the country lifted Covid restrictions and social distancing. Many in the crowd were wearing masks and Halloween costumes.

Authorities said they were investigating the exact cause of the incident that took place at Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, located in Central Seoul.

Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them free.

The fire department began to receive reports at 10.22 p.m. of people experiencing cardiac arrest at the scene on Saturday.

According to Korea local media, a first stage response was issued by the fire department at 10.38 p.m on Saturday and then upgraded to stage three at 11.50 pm.

A total of 848 personnel, including 364 firefighters, were mobilized to deal with the accident and 142 ambulances were deployed.

Of the people who died, more than 100 were transferred to the hospital. The remaining bodies were kept on site and later moved to a nearby multi-purpose indoor gymnasium.

Identification of the deceased is expected to take some time.

Officials confirmed that 19 foreigners were among the dead. Among the foreign nationals who died were people from Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway.

The death toll is currently 97 women and 54 men.

Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said in a briefing at the scene that many of those killed were near a nightclub.

“A number of people fell during a Halloween festival, and we have a large number of casualties,” Choi and added that all the deaths were likely from the crush in the single narrow alley.

Many of the victims were women in their 20s, said Choi.

Officials expect that the number of casualties will continue to rise.

Following reports of the incident, President Yoon Suk-yeol said, “All related ministries and agencies, led by the minister of public administration and security, should make every effort to promptly provide aid to the victims,” according to Lee Jae-myung, a deputy presidential office spokesperson.

The president also called for safety measures to deal with emergencies that could be triggered at Halloween events taking place throughout the country. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has also decided to return immediately from his business trip in Europe, according to reports.

The disaster is among the country’s deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.