The crowd surge that killed at least 150 people in Seoul during a Halloween party is among the worst crushes of the last decade. Here are the most deadly:
Mecca: 2,300 dead
On 24 September 2015, a massive crush on the site of the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina near Mecca during the annual pilgrimage caused about 2,300 deaths, the deadliest disaster in the hajj’s history.
Iran, which said 464 of its pilgrims were killed, accused Saudi Arabia of failing to organise the event properly.
Some pilgrims blamed the crush on the closure of a road near the stoning site, claiming security forces mismanaged the flow of worshippers.
South Korea: at least 149 dead
On the night of 29 October 2022, at least 150 people were killed and about 150 injured in a crush in Seoul during a Halloween party, with several thousand participants in the narrow streets of a neighbourhood in the South Korean capital.
Indonesia: at least 133 dead
On 1 October 2022, a crush in a football stadium in Malang, East Java, killed 133 people, including more than 40 children.
Police had tried to fend off fans with teargas and many panic-stricken victims were crushed or suffocated while trying to use closed or too-narrow exit doors.
Six people, including three police officers, were charged and the regional police chief transferred.
The Kanjuruhan stadium will be demolished.
India: at least 115 dead
On 13 October 2013, a crush on the sidelines of a religious festival near a temple in the Datia district of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh left at least 115 people dead, mostly trampled or drowned, and more than 110 injured.
At the time of the accident, about 20,000 people were on a bridge over the Sindh River.
According to local authorities, a rumour about a possible collapse of the bridge caused a surge.
Ivory Coast: at least 60 dead
On 1 January 2013, at least 60 people, many of them youngsters, died in a crush when a huge crowd of spectators left the Plateau district of Ivory Coast’s economic capital, Abidjan, after attending new year’s fireworks.
Iran: 56 dead
On 7 January 2020, a crush in Kerman in Iran’s south-east during the funeral of Iranian general Qasem Suleimani, which was attended by a huge crowd, resulted in 56 deaths.
Suleimani, killed on 3 January by a US drone strike outside Baghdad airport, was considered a hero in his fight against Islamic State group jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Ethiopia: at least 52 dead
On 2 October 2016, at least 52 people died, according to authorities – or at least 100, according to the opposition – in a crowd surge in Bishoftu, 50km (30 miles) south-east of Addis Ababa.
Clashes between crowds and police during the traditional Oromo Irreecha festival that marks the end of the rainy season erupted, causing the crush.
Tanzania: 45 dead
On 21 March 2021, 45 people died in a crush at a stadium in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s economic capital, where a tribute to the late president John Magufuli was being held.
Israel: 45 dead
On 30 April 2021, a crush during the Jewish holiday pilgrimage from Lag Ba’omer to Mount Meron in northern Israel killed at least 45 people, darkening the largest gathering in the country since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
