In an instant, Halloween becomes worst nightmare imaginable

It went almost imperceptibly from a celebration to the worst nightmare imaginable. One minute, Halloween revelers were having a grand time in Itaewon. About an hour later, at least 151 were dead, crushed as rivers of humanity flowed inexorably...

Police and firefighters inspect an alleyway near Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, Yongsan District, where most of the casualties from a crowd crush that killed at least 153 people were found, in the early hours of Sunday. [NEWS1]

It went almost imperceptibly from a celebration to the worst nightmare imaginable.

One minute, Halloween revelers were having a grand time in Itaewon.

About an hour later, at least 151 were dead, crushed as rivers of humanity flowed inexorably toward each other in the warren of narrow alleys that almost defines Seoul's historic entertainment zone.

“Somebody call 911,” cried out a woman sitting on the side of the road near exit 1 of Itaewon Station.

It was about 10:25, and sometime in the minutes ahead of that call — no one can quite pinpoint it — a bustling crowd in a narrow street just a few meters from the woman congealed into a deadly crush.

Her pleas were all but ignored by passersby in Halloween costumes, as were desperate appeals from others.

Moments later, it was utter chaos.

Some people caught in Itaewon on Saturday were unable to escape. [YONHAP]

“I think someone has been crushed here,” one person shouted.

“There has been an accident,” someone else yelled.

Police, firefighters and other first responders arrived almost immediately but had trouble getting close to the injured due to the crowds, the confusion and the loud music.

They repeatedly shouted for the street to be cleared, but their voices were drowned out, while many were stuck in the mass of people crammed in the alleyway and could not move.

As the rescue personal gained control of the area, at around 11 p.m., a horrific scene emerged.

Firefighters and police carried casualties on stretchers and, if necessary, on their backs, and desperately performed CPR once they got to the main street and open air.

Citizens pitched in, carrying at first and then performing CPR when it became apparent that all capable hands were needed stat.

Private citizens perform CPR on people who collapsed in the crowds in Itaewon on Saturday. [YONHAP]

Calls for help continued through midnight.

Survivors ran about looking for friends who had been carried away in the mayhem.

“My friend who was receiving CPR was carried away to the hospital, but I don’t know which hospital he went to,” said one man. “Please find him.”

Foreigners were at the scene asking about friends lost in the confusion.

Several people were crying as they sat hopelessly watching friends, acquaintances and strangers being whisked away to the hospital.

Survivors in shock shook as they lay on stretchers after witnessing the unimaginable.

Rumors spread quickly, and theories gained traction fast.

“I can’t be sure of the cause, but I think people flocked to the scene when a famous influencer appeared, and there were too many people so they collapsed,” said one man. “People were screaming for their lives but no one could move.”

“I was in the alleyway where it happened and I barely survived by sticking close to a wall,” said another survivor.

Scores of witness accounts were posted on social media, including on Twitter, where many said people fell like dominoes in the alley.

"I almost died in there," read a tweet.

A police officer walks up the alleyway near Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon on Sunday. [YONHAP]

"I think people at the top of the alley didn't know about what was happening at the bottom and people kept pushing," other read.

"I was suffocating with little room to breathe," said a survivor on Twitter. "I screamed for help and someone pulled me up from the corner of the street."

The growing consensus about 12 hours after the event was that too many people rushed into the narrow alley from opposite directions.

“People kept coming in through other streets that were above the narrow alley, and those at the lower end of the alley couldn’t get out,” said an eyewitness. “So the damage seems to have increased from that. There was an event at a store in the alley where the accident happened so the crowd blew up.”

As of Sunday morning, 153 were reported dead and 103 people were injured from the incident at Itaewon. The fire department said that the first report of a person having difficulty breathing was received at around 10:22 p.m. Saturday.

BY KIM NAM-YOUNG, NA UN-CHAE, LEE BYUNG-JUN [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]