S. Korea in shock and grief over Halloween stampede

Commuters exiting the Itaewon subway station in the district of Itaewon in Seoul as flowers and tributes are seen outside in memory of those who died in the Halloween stampede. - AFP

SEOUL (AP): Concerned relatives raced to hospitals in search of their loved ones Sunday (Oct 30) as South Korea mourned the deaths of more than 150 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s, who got trapped and crushed after a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul.

Witnesses said the crowd surge Saturday night in the Itaewon area caused "a hell-like” chaos as people fell on each other "like dominoes.” Some people were bleeding from their noses and mouths while being given CPR, witnesses said, while others clad in Halloween costumes continued to sing and dance nearby, possibly without knowing the severity of the situation.