PRINCE William and Princess Kate have today sent their “love and prayers” to the victims of the Seoul Halloween stampede.
Kate and William took to Twitter to send their support to those who died and their loved ones after the tragedy that killed more than 100 people unfolded yesterday.
Prince William and Princess Kate have sent their ‘love and prayers’ to the victims of the Seoul Halloween stampede
On their joint Twitter account, the Prince and Princess of Wales wrote: “Catherine and I send all our love and prayers to the parents, families and loved ones of those tragically lost in Seoul yesterday evening.”
The couple signed off the message “W & C”.
It comes after a deadly crush killed at least 153 Halloween fans in Seoul, South Korea, on Saturday night.
South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday, describing the crush as “truly tragic”.
Tens of thousands of Halloween fans had attempted to push down a narrow alleyway just 12 feet wide when the tragedy occurred on Saturday night.
Chilling pictures show the area crammed with party-goers barely able to move moments before the stampede.
Excited teenagers and young adults had poured into the capital to enjoy the first unrestricted Halloween celebrations in three years since Covid regulations were lifted.
But instead they found themselves caught up in a terrifying stampede as the festivities had attracted a dangerous amount of people.
Witnesses say the crowd became increasingly “agitated” as the evening went on.
Shortly before 10.20pm, the situation became out of control as a stampede broke out as people were forced down the tight, sloped alleyway after it was already packed wall-to-wall with people.
Those at the top of the 147ft long pathway started to fall, sending people below them toppling over others.
Panicked people became trapped and struggled to breathe before many went into cardiac arrest.
Horrifying footage shared on social media showed some people trying to scale the sides of the buildings to escape the increasing pressure, as others desperately cried out for help.
Tragically, at least 153 people – mostly teenagers and people in their 20s – were declared dead with a further 82 were injured – 19 of those seriously.
Officials said the deaths included 22 foreigners from China, Iran, Russia, France, the US, Australia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Austria, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Norway.
As of midday, Interior Ministry Lee Sang-min said at least 90 per cent of the victims had been identified, with delays affecting some foreign nationals and teenagers who did not yet have identification cards.
