'There were bodies everywhere': US soldiers survive S. Korea crush

A street in Itaewon district is pictured full of people before a stampede during Halloween festivities killed and injured many in Seoul. - Reuters

Seoul (AFP): For hours, they pulled body after body out of the crushed tangles of limbs that filled the narrow Itaewon alleyway at the epicentre of South Korea's worst ever stampede. But it was often too late.

Three off-duty American soldiers stationed in South Korea told AFP how they found themselves caught up in the crowd surge and crush that killed 151 people and injured scores more, describing scenes of chaos, suffering and death as they struggled to help.