Four Chinese nationals have been confirmed among the 153 dead in Seoul after a stampede at a Halloween event in the Korean capital, South China Morning Post reports.
As of press time, 26 foreign nationals have been confirmed to have died during the incident which occurred in the city’s Itaewon commercial area.
A film producer named as Grace Rached from Sydney, Australian is one of the expats who passed away. She was 23 years old.
The event occurred on Saturday, October 29 as thousands of people ascended to the streets as part of the city’s Halloween celebrations.
BBC reports that around 100,000 people flocked to the area, a popular spot for young people with many bars and restaurants.
This year was the first year that party-goers were allowed to attend public Halloween events without a mask, which is said to have led to a larger number of people than normal flocking to the area.
Around 10.20pm local time, people were seen falling over as the thousands of people crammed into the tight alleys and tried to move forward.
As the huge crowd of people began advancing, many individuals were swept forward, pushed against walls and trampled on.
The Prime Minister of South Korea has vowed a “thorough investigation” into the cause of the tragedy.
Today, funerals for the victims began taking place, all of which have been paid for by the South Korean government.
Many of the dead are said to be young people and university students.
This is not the first time a tragedy in the country has led to the deaths of many young people.
In 2014, over 300 people, mainly high-school students, died when a ferry sank off Jindo island, leading to national mourning and public criticism of the government.
[Cover image via Weibo]
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