The vast majority of those killed and injured in the Seoul stampede were young people aged between 18 to 30, with nearly two-thirds of them being women, a Seoul rescue services spokesman reported on Sunday, Trend reports citing TASS.
"A total of 233 people were injured in the incident, of whom 151 died and 82 were injured. Most of the dead were teenagers and people under 30, that is 54 men and 97 women," he said. The rescuer pointed out that this proportion was probably due to the more fragile build of young girls compared to men.
According to the latest data, three Russian women were among the dead. A total of 19 foreigners were killed, including citizens of China, Uzbekistan and Norway.
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 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. According to eyewitnesses, there were piles of slippery garbage on the ground. As a result, people began to fall and others walked on them.