Consular officers are providing assistance to the individual’s family in Australia. The officers were also helping “a number” of other Australians who were present at the event,the DFAT spokesman said.
“The Australian government sends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident. We ask for the family’s privacy to be respected during this difficult time,” the spokesman said.
An estimated 100,000 revellers had massed in Itaewon,a vibrant area of bars and restaurants in Seoul,with many in costume to celebrate Halloween and let their hair down after the recent easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
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Just a few hours later,however,the festivities took a tragic turn as partygoers collapsed and were trampled on in a crowded alleyway near an exit to the subway station.
In horrific and chaotic footage captured on mobile phones and posted on social media,bystanders and emergency workers were shown performing CPR on unresponsive people on the footpath and bodies could be seen covered in blue sheets before being taken away on stretchers to hospitals and a gymnasium.
Authorities said 151 people,most of them in their 20s and 30s,had been killed and a further 104 were injured. Of these,24 were in a critical condition,according to Seoul City’s disaster headquarters,indicating the casualty count could well rise.