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Number of foreigners killed in Seoul stampede rises to 22 — Yonhap

Earlier, there were reports about 19 casualties among foreigners

SEOUL, October 30. /TASS/. At least 22 foreigners have been killed in a stampede in Seoul's Itaewon district, the Yonhap news agency reported on Sunday, citing emergency services.

Earlier, there were reports about 19 casualties among foreigners. Before that, police said they had identified 140 of the 151 people who died in the stampede. In addition, 82 people were injured. Some 97 women and 54 men died as a result of the incident. This is the deadliest tragedy in South Korea since the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster when 304 people, mostly schoolchildren, were killed.

The agency, citing sources in the South Korean National Defense Ministry, revealed that there were three servicemen among the dead. Four other servicemen were injured.

Itaewon is known as one of Seoul's nightlife centers. Tens of thousands of young people went to the area on Saturday to celebrate Halloween as this year was the first time in three years that the pandemic-related restrictions had been lifted.

The stampede began around 10:20 p.m. local time (4:20 p.m. Moscow time) on Saturday in one of the jam-packed narrow streets. According to several media outlets, the stampede may have been triggered by rumors that a popular k-pop singer had been seen in one of the bars. Following these rumors, many people rushed to the street where this bar was to see the star.

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