PHOTOS | Worst-ever stampede: Seoul in grief after Halloween stampede leaves over 150 dead

An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country’s biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began. However, tragedy struck, after the large crowd, surged into a narrow alley in the nightlife district in Seoul, clogging the area's narrow alleyways and winding streets, trapping and crushing to death over 150 people.

An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country’s biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began. However, tragedy struck, after the large crowd, surged into a narrow alley in the nightlife district in Seoul, clogging the area's narrow alleyways and winding streets, trapping and crushing to death over 150 people. (Photo | AP) 

'People couldn't move forward and were pushing and pushing, and it was a steep hill so people were falling on top of each other, collapsing on top of each other,' eyewitness Jarmil Taylor told AFP. 'People that were at the back were pushing and pushing because they had no idea what was going on in the front.'(Photo | AP)

Most of the victims were young women in their 20s and teens. The fire department said at least 19 foreigners, from Iran, Uzbekistan, China and Norway, were killed in the stampede, which occurred around 10:00 pm on Saturday (6:30 PM IST). (Photo | AP)

Witnesses said the crowd surge in the capital's popular Itaewon area on Saturday night caused “a hell-like” chaos as people fell on each other “like dominos.” (Photo | AP)

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning Sunday, telling the country in a televised address that 'a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened'. (Photo | AP)

President Yoon Suk-yeol said the government will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future. He visited the scene of the disaster and spoke to emergency workers. (Photo | AP)

While Halloween isn’t a traditional holiday in South Korea, where children rarely go trick-or-treating, it’s still a major attraction for young adults, and costume parties at bars and clubs have become hugely popular in recent years. (Photo | AP)

Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of U.S. military forces in South Korea operated before moving out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district known for its trendy bars, clubs and restaurants and it’s the city’s marquee Halloween destination. (Photo | AP)

Paramedics at the scene, quickly overwhelmed by the number of victims, were asking passers-by to administer first aid. (Photo | AP)

As questions began to emerge over the lack of security at the event, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min told a briefing that the police force had been occupied on the other side of town.(Photo | AP)

Local shopkeepers told AFP that the number of people at the annual celebration was 'unprecedentedly large' this year -- the first event to be held without Covid-19 restrictions since the pandemic began. (Photo | AP)

In documents posted two days before the event, the police said they only planned to have 200 officers present for the Itaewon Halloween event. (Photo | AP)

Around 100 businesses in the Hamilton Hotel area have agreed to shut down their shops through Monday to reduce the number of partygoers who would come to the streets through Halloween Day. (Photo | AP)

A woman places a bouquet of flowers to pay tribute for victims near the scene of a deadly accident in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo | AP)