About 50 suffer cardiac arrest in Halloween stampede in South Korea

SEOUL: About 50 people suffered from cardiac arrest on Saturday in a stampede in Seoul as a huge crowd flocked into the central district of the South Korean capital to celebrate Halloween, reported Yonhap news agency, citing Reuters.

Fire authorities were administrating CPR to at least 50 people in the Itaewon district as of 11:30 p.m. (1430 GMT) on Saturday, according to the news agency. Emergency officials received at least 81 calls from people with breathing difficulty, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency Social media footage showed several people being assisted by rescue officials and private citizens at the scene.

A large crowd pushed forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities, resulting in dozens needing first aid. South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered the dispatch of the emergency medical team to the area and said hospital beds should be prepared to minimize casualties, his office said.

He also instructed the Health Ministry to swiftly deploy disaster medical assistance teams and secure beds in a nearby hospital to treat the injured. Authorities are still looking into the exact origins and the cause of this accident.