At least 153 people have died and a further 82 have been injured in a crush on Saturday evening in South Korea’s capital, Seoul.
Authorities say that most of those killed were in their teens and 20s.
The incident happened in the vibrant nightlife district of Itaewon where about 100,000 people had gathered for the first event since Covid where crowd sizes were not limited and there was no need to wear a mask outside.
At least 20 foreign nationals are also among the dead, including four Iranians and a 29-year-old woman from Thailand.
Eyewitnesses have described how they tried to resuscitate those injured despite having no experience of administering CPR.
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“.
Meanwhile the interior minister says officials did not expect so many people would flock to the district’s narrow streets and said many officers had been deployed elsewhere in the capital.
World leaders, including UK prime minister Rishi Sunak and Chinese President Xi Jingping, have sent condolences and offers of support to South Korea.
