On the scariest night of the year, the unthinkable happened.

Many people in South Korea are mourning the deaths of their loved ones after a chaotic Halloween night turned tragic. During Halloween festivities, a huge crowd got into a narrow alley in Itaewon, causing a surge that killed about 153 people.

According to some witnesses, people were squeezed in so tight that attempts to pull them out proved difficult. Other victims were bleeding profusely from their mouths and noses as volunteers and medics tried to give them CPR. The reasons for the crowd surge remain unclear, and South Korea’s president ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.

Officials announced on Sunday that the surge had so far killed 153 people and injured another 133. Women were the most affected and made up two-thirds of the fatalities, with 97 of the 153 being women. At least four teenagers were killed, and over 80% of the dead were young people in their 20s and 30s.

South Korea’s Ministry of Interior and Safety said they expected the death toll to rise as 37 injured people were still in critical condition.

With the party mood still going on outside the alley, many people did not realize that something disastrous was happening just a few feet away from them, as singing and dancing continued and people lost their lives while others fought for theirs.

One of the witnesses, Ken Fallas, took a video showing numerous unconscious people being transported from the alley while others shouted for help. Fallas said that the music playing loudly played a significant role in the incident because it was hard for other people to hear their calls for help.

According to South Korean authorities, they have received numerous calls and visits from thousands of concerned people reporting their family members and friends missing and searching for them among the injured and dead.

Even though Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, it attracts many young revelers who attend costume parties at popular bars and clubs. Itaewon, Seoul’s most popular destination for nightlife, saw over 100,000 people gather for Halloween celebrations after the country eased COVID-19 restrictions. It was the first outdoor Halloween festival in three years. 

Because of the thousands of people and slow-moving cars that filled Itaewon, it was hard for emergency services, including medics and ambulances, to get to the alley quickly, adding to the fatalities.

Yoon Suk Yeol, South Korea’s President, declared a week-long mourning period and ordered the country’s flags to fly at half-mast. He said that the government’s priority was supporting the victims’ families, making funeral arrangements, and treating the injured.

Amongst the dead were 20 foreigners, including four Chinese citizens, three Russians, two Iranians, and one person each from the US, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Austria, Uzbekistan, Norway, and Kazakhstan. According to the Ministry of Interior, there were four other deceased foreigners whose nationalities were not yet confirmed.

The American citizen who died was a University of Kentucky student who was part of an international education program and was studying in South Korea this semester.

This disastrous incident was the deadliest in the country since 2014, when 306 people were killed when the Sewol Ferry sank. That accident killed 250 students from a high school.