16 dead, 9 injured at outdoor pop concert in South Korea

Sixteen people were killed and 9 others were seriously injured at an outdoor pop concert near Seoul on Friday, Yonhap news agency said.

They were standing on a ventilation grate to get a better look at the performance when the grate gave way under their weight.

Some 25 people fell more than 10m into an underground parking area, reported YTN news channel.

Most of the casualties were students, it added.

Killed ... People gather around a collapsed ventilation grate at an outdoor theatre in Seongnam, south of Seoul, South Korea, where at least 14 people have died. Picture: AP Photo/Yonhap. Source: AP

^{Police officials examining the scene of the accident at a shopping district in Seongnam City. Photo: Reuters}

An emergency services official said: \"The injured are in serious condition so the number of deaths could rise.\"

The incident happened in Seongnam City. More than 700 people were believed to be attending the outdoor concert.

Amateur video footage obtained by the YTN news channel showed shocked spectators surrounding the collapsed grate as the popular all-girl K-pop band 4Minute, apparently oblivious to the accident, continued performing on the stage.

^{Most of the dead and injured are believed to be students. Photo: Reuters}

A witness told YTN: \"There was a sudden, loud screaming, and when I tued it looked as if people were being sucked down into a hole.\"

A woman standing nearby said a great \"cloud of dust\" billowed up from the ventilation shaft after the grate collapsed.

YTN said that prior to the collapse of the grate, concert organisers had repeatedly urged spectators to move off it.

Sources: AFP, Reuters - See more at: http://www.tnp.sg/news/14-dead-11-injured-outdoor-pop-concert-south-korea#sthash.ImFTN3Dk.dpuf