DMW: No reported OFWs hurt in Seoul stampede yet

There were no overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) reportedly hurt in the deadly Halloween stampede in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday night, the Department of Migrant Workers said Sunday.

“[P]er our labor attaché, no reports of OFWs hurt as of this time but they are still monitoring the situation,” Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople told GMA News Online.

Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Sunday that they have yet to receive reports if there were any Filipino victims in the stampede.

“The Embassy is closely monitoring the situation and is in coordination with local authorities in case any Filipino national has been affected,” the DFA said in a statement.

“The Embassy continues to remind all Filipinos in Korea to observe precautions during large events,” it added. 

Citing the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, the DFA said that of the casualties, two foreign nationals were reportedly killed, while 15 other foreigners were injured.

The stampede left at least 151 people killed and 150 more injured when a huge crowd celebrating Halloween crammed into an alley in Seoul's Itaewon district, according to emergency officials.

A Reuters report said social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and police tried to pull them free.

Many of the injured were in serious condition and receiving emergency treatment. Foreigners were also among those transferred to nearby hospitals.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday and expressed condolences to the victims, Reuters reported. —KG, GMA News