In the heart of Seoul, the capital of South Korea, thousands of people, mostly young people, had gathered in Itaewon.
It is a buzzing nightlife area with numerous winding lanes and streets lined with bars and eateries.
According to some reports, the neighbourhood had been overrun by 100,000 people that evening.
Videos on social media show streams of people arriving to celebrate Halloween starting in the early evening on Saturday in the neighbourhood served by Itaewon metro station.
In the audience was 32-year-old Nuhyil Ahammed. The local resident and IT professional from India has previously attended Halloween parties in Itaewon, but claims that this year was quite different.
“It was insane,” “Too many people began to clog the streets around 5 o’clock. So I wondered, what will life be like in seven or eight years?”
At this time, individuals were complaining on social media about how unsafe they felt walking through the district’s congested streets.
Several hours prior to the fatal crush in an off-road alley, Itaewon made the first call to the police at 18:34 local time.
“People are currently moving up and down that alley, making it extremely hazardous. If more people keep moving up that alley, it will eventually be destroyed. I hardly made it outside since it was so busy. I think you ought to manage it “said the caller.
Some people may be seen in video posted on social media trying to scale the buildings’ sides to get away.
Fire officials said they were notified at 22:24 that 10 persons were being forced down beneath the mob and had trouble breathing.
According to the authorities, the first four ambulances arrived at 22:27, and six more arrived a short while after.
At 02:30, the initial death toll was announced. Officials said that 150 persons had been injured in addition to the 59 fatalities. After an hour, there were 120 dead and 100 injured. As the night went on, the figures continued to grow and soon reached 150.
Yoon Suk-yeol, the president of South Korea, convened an emergency meeting shortly after the disaster began to take place and declared that the reason of the crush will be looked into. He declared a day of national mourning on Sunday morning.
