![Police officers work at the scene of a fatal crowd surge, in Seoul, Oct. 30. AP](http://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/newsV2/images/202210/e2cf1905fcee40b59e1eba5146cadeda.jpg/dims/resize/740/optimize) |
Police officers work at the scene of a fatal crowd surge, in Seoul, Oct. 30. AP |
A sudden surge of Halloween crowds instantly packed a narrow 4-meter-wide downhill alley in Seoul's Itaewon district, with hundreds left unable to move or escape, before some began to fall over and knock others down, resulting in the deadliest stampede in Korea, witnesses and authorities said Sunday.
At least 151 people have been crushed to death and 82 others injured in the deadly crowd surge during late-night Halloween celebrations on Saturday at the famous Halloween party district.
It was the deadliest accident in Korea since the sinking of the ferry Sewol in 2014 that killed 304 high-school students and others.
With its hip nightlife and chic restaurants, Itaewon, home to expat communities in central Seoul, is by far the most popular spot for Halloween partygoers, and tens of thousands of people visited the area on that night.
The back alley in question is a downhill 4 meter-by-40 meter path that links a busy restaurant district with a main street, where about six adults can barely pass at the same time.
Massive crowds of partygoers piled into the narrow alley Saturday night to celebrate the first maskless Halloween season since the first COVID-19 outbreaks in early 2020 after the outdoor mask-wearing mandate was completely lifted nationwide in September.
![Social media urge users to refrain from spreading false info on Itaewon tragedy](http://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/a6242b2d4f6645d783a427390a216a2d.jpg/dims/resize/84/optimize)