Fifty-nine people and more have been confirmed dead in a massive crush which had occurred during a huge Halloween crowd stampede which had taken place in a popular nightlife area of South Korea’s capital.
Yonhap news agency had also cited some of the emergency services who had revealed that 150 more had also been injured in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
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And some of the videos from the scene which had been captured by Africa Daily News, New York also show body bags on the streets, emergency workers performing CPR, and rescuers trying to pull people who were trapped beneath others.
It is not yet clear what caused the incident.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has called an emergency meeting.
There had been reportedly 100,000 revellers in the area celebrating the first outdoor no-mask Halloween event since the pandemic. Social media messages posted earlier in the evening show some people remarking that the Itaewon area was so crowded that it felt unsafe.
The BBC’s Hosu Lee, who visited the scene, said he saw “a lot of medial staff, a lot of ambulances, they were taking the bodies away one by one”.
Hosu Lee said there were thousands among the crowds, and a number of bodies covered in blue sheets, alongside a “ton of police”.
“A lot of young people have gathered here tonight. A lot of people came to the party and club, wearing costumes and a lot of people I’ve seen distraught and sad and there are chaotic scenes,” said Mr Lee.
Photos and videos show a number of both emergency responders and civilians attending to what appear to be unconscious people on the streets.
Another local journalist said that an emergency broadcast had been sent to every mobile phone in the Yongsan District urging citizens to return home as soon as possible due to “an emergency accident near Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon”.
