South Korea: How the Halloween tragedy unfolded

After much than 150 radical died successful a deadly crush successful Seoul connected Saturday night, the BBC looks astatine however the calamity unfolded.

By aboriginal evening connected Saturday, thousands of chiefly young revellers had converged successful Itaewon successful the centre of the South Korean capital, a lively enactment spot whose warren-like streets and alleys are filled with bars and restaurants.

Some accounts accidental 100,000 radical had descended connected the country to observe Halloween, excited astir the imaginable of partying again aft 2 years of strict Covid restrictions successful the country.

Nuhyil Ahammed, 32, was among the crowd. The IT idiosyncratic from India lives adjacent and had been to Halloween parties successful Itaewon for 5 years running.

Last twelvemonth the celebrations had been lively, but nether control, with constabulary preventing radical from entering engaged areas. Things were precise antithetic this year, helium said.

"It was crazy," helium told the BBC. "From 5pm determination were excessively galore radical connected the streets. So I was thinking, what's it going to beryllium similar from 7 oregon eight?"

Around this time, societal media messages were being posted online with radical saying that the streets of the territory were truthful crowded they felt unsafe.

Mr Ahammed and a radical of friends spent the evening successful Itaewon, hanging astir a narrow, sloping alley disconnected the district's main thoroughfare that was astir to go the main absorption of the tragedy.

"We ever spell to this alley," helium said. "I don't cognize why, but determination are ever bully bars and radical successful costume."

By 11pm it was wide thing was wrong, and an alarmed Mr Ahammed recovered himself caught up successful a immense assemblage of people.

"People began pushing from behind, it was similar a question - determination was thing you could do," helium said. "Even if you were lasting still, idiosyncratic was pushing you from the backmost and from the front."

Mr Ahammed fell to the crushed but managed to ascent supra the assemblage up immoderate steps on the broadside of the alley.

It was astir 22:20 section clip (13:20 BST) erstwhile the concern turned desperate. A fig of radical connected the slope fell over, causing a monolithic crush. Crowds pressing from some ends of the constrictive thoroughfare meant nary 1 could get out..

"People were suffocating, screaming... getting squeezed... falling... determination were conscionable excessively galore people," the 32-year-old said.

"I was connected the measurement conscionable watching everything happening, radical taking their past breaths... I was conscionable helpless looking astatine those radical suffocating."

Ana, a 24-year-old from Spain was besides successful the area, with her friend, Melissa, a 19-year-old from Germany. The brace were successful a barroom and tried to permission astatine 23:00 section clip (14:00 BST) erstwhile they saw ambulances entering the alley and constabulary asking radical to determination to marque mode for dormant bodies and the injured.

"There were truthful galore radical that they needed mean radical to bash CPR. So everyone started jumping successful and help," Ana told the BBC.

She said that 2 friends who knew CPR had gone to help, but that immoderate radical had died successful their hands.

Ana past went to help, listening to instructions being fixed to her.

"They were telling maine however to clasp their heads and unfastened their mouths, and things similar that. I was trying to assistance but they were some dormant arsenic well. I person to accidental each the radical they were bringing successful to bash CPR, astir of them were already not breathing truthful they couldn't bash anything."

"We couldn't bash anything, that was the main trauma," she said.

Videos from the country amusement dozens of radical attempting CPR connected bodies lining the street. A BBC newsman connected the crushed said they saw a fig of ambulances, thousands of people, and galore bodies covered with bluish sheets. Ambulances struggled to get done the crowds of people.

As is often the lawsuit successful a fast-moving calamity similar this, quality astir what had happened was emerging piecemeal.

Initial reports said that astir 50 radical had suffered cardiac arrests - a communal origin of decease during a crush - but it was wide from grim photographs of assemblage bags lining the streets that this was a large incident.

The archetypal confirmed decease toll was issued astatine 02:30 section clip (17:30 BST). Official said that 59 radical had died and a further 150 were injured. An hr aboriginal the numbers had jumped to 120 dormant with 100 injured, and climbed further inactive arsenic the nighttime wore on, soon surpassing 150.

Mr Ahammed said that adjacent hours aft the crush occurred radical successful the country were inactive partying, with euphony inactive being heard coming from immoderate of the bars and clubs successful the area. It's not wide if these venues and their patrons were alert of the seriousness of what was happening astir them.

Within hours of the calamity unfolding South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol had held an exigency meeting, and announced an probe into the origin of the crush. On Sunday greeting helium announced a play of nationalist mourning.

"My bosom is dense and I conflict to header with my grief," helium said, adding that helium felt "responsible for people's lives and safety".

There is usually a hive of enactment astir Itaewon connected Sunday afternoons, but the time aft the calamity galore shops, restaurants and cafes were closed, and the area's main thoroughfare was sealed off. A section nonmigratory told the BBC she was shocked astatine the show of assemblage bags on the street.

As the state grapples with however the calamity unfolded, attraction volition inevitably displacement to information standards and assemblage power measures, arsenic radical inquire if much could person been done to debar this tragedy.