At least 149 dead in South Korea after crowd surge during Halloween festivities, officials say

Tragedy filled the streets of South Korea’s capital Saturday night when about 300 people were crushed as crowds surged through a narrow Seoul street, leaving more than 149 dead, according to officials’ estimates.

Pedestrians joined hundreds of emergency workers in offering aid as dozens of people lay in the street, many in cardiac arrest. In addition to the fatalities, an estimated 150 more people were injured, officials said.

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul's Yongsan fire department, released preliminary death tolls as he acknowledged many of the dead remained at the scene. Dozens who had been on the streets were being transported to a nearby gym where workers would identify them, he said.

In the streets, ambulances lined up; emergency responders rushed the injured on stretchers; motionless bodies lay under blue blankets — these scenes were broadcast on TV footage and captured in photos of the carnage.