Dozens of people suffered from cardiac arrest in the South Korean capital Seoul on Saturday, after thousands crowded into narrow streets in the city's Itaewon neighborhood to celebrate Halloween, local officials said.

A fire brigade official confirmed the incident to AFP, saying that more than 140 ambulances had been dispatched to the scene to aid the victims.

Around 50 people were in cardiac arrest in the central Seoul neighborhood, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing the fire department.

Itaewon is a popular destination for people celebrating Halloween in the South Korean capital, and the incident apparently occurred as the result of a crush resulting from the size of the crowd.

President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered officials to dispatch first aid teams and to swiftly secure hospital beds for those affected, the presidential office said.

Emergency first aid

Photographs published by Yonhap appeared to show more than a dozen people lying prone on a street that had been cordoned off by authorities, with rescue workers tending to some of them.

Video footage from the scene of the crush showed people performing emergency first aid on several victims who appeared to be prone on the pavement, while rescue workers rushed to help others.

Yellow-jacketed policemen formed a cordon around the site of the crush, with rescue officials loading victims — some of whom were covered with blankets or other coverings — into ambulances.

Around two dozen people were entirely covered by makeshift blankets on the roadside.

Emergency workers carried them off on wheeled stretchers to waiting ambulances.

This year's Halloween is the first celebration of the event since the pandemic broke out in 2020 at which South Koreans have not been mandated to wear face masks outdoors.