At least 120 dead in crowd surge at Halloween festivities in Seoul

SEOUL, South Korea — At least 120 people are killed and 100 more injured as they are crushed by a large crowd pushing forward on a narrow street during Halloween festivities in the capital of Seoul, South Korean officials say.

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, says the death toll could rise and that an unspecified number among the injured are in critical conditions.

He says 74 of the dead have been sent to hospitals while the bodies of the remaining 46 who had been kept on the streets were being transported to a nearby gym so that workers could identify them.

Officials say it was believed that people were crushed to death after a large crowd began pushing forward in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul.