Condolences are pouring in around the world after 153 people were killed following a Halloween stampede in South Korea.
It is believed that more than 80 people are also in hospital.
The victims are mostly teenagers and young people in their twenties, attending the first Halloween event in three years due to Covid restrictions.
Investigators are trying to discover why a group of young people tried to rush down an alleyway in the capital, Seoul.
"The cause is under investigation, the accident happened when a large number of people who were participating in the Halloween festival fell down, resulting in many deaths of the participants" The head of the local fire department - Choi Seong-Beom explains.
Office worker Kim Ji-yon says relatives have broken down in tears and others collapsed as they reported their loved ones missing "There were more people who wanted to satisfy their desire for joy, which they had restrained over the last two years, crowding the Itaewon District"
The Minister for Foreign Affairs has joined leaders around the globe in sending condolences to South Korea.
Simon Coveney says it's devastating news, and Irish thoughts are with the injured, and all those who have lost loved ones in the tragedy.
According to Sky's Asia correspondent Helen-Ann Smith it is being called one of South Korea's worst disasters.
Image: Sky News video screenshot
