At least 151 people were crushed to death and dozens injured in a stampede at packed Halloween festivities in the South Korean capital of Seoul, according to local media reports.

Nineteen foreign nationals are among the dead. The victims include people from Iran, Norway, China and Uzbekistan

The crush took place in the nightlife district of Itaewon. What caused the crush is not clear, but witnesses say partygoers had been packed tightly in the district’s narrow streets and it was difficult to move around.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared a period of national mourning.

“People were layered on top of others like a tomb. Some were gradually losing their consciousness while some looked dead by that point,” news agency AFP cited an eyewitness as saying.

The Halloween event that turned into a tragedy was the first since the pandemic started in 2020 at which South Koreans have not been mandated to wear face masks outdoors.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar expressed his condolences over the tragedy, assuring India’s solidarity with the grieving nation, saying he was “deeply shocked” by the loss of young lives.