SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Xinhuanet) -- At least 11 people were killed and 70others injured at a stampede tragedy in South Korean provincial city on Monday, as about 10,000 local people were entering a stadium for a music concert, reported South Korean Yonhap News Agency.

    The accident took place Monday late afternoon at a public stadium in city of Sangju, some 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, where domestic television station MBC was scheduled to hold a music concert, Yonhap said.

    The accident happened two hours before the concert begins when people waiting to enter the concert surged forward shortly after a stadium gate was opened, causing people behind them to fall and crush one another, Yonhap quoted local police as saying.

    "Elderly men were standing at the front, and they fell after being pushed from behind, prompting a situation of people falling and being crushed," a local citizen who witnessed the mass crush was quoted by Yonhap as saying.

    About 10,000 local music fans gathered to watch the concert, but organizers only allowed them to enter the stadium through two of its four main gates, Yonhap said.

    Policemen and firefighters rushed to the scene to send the injured, some of whom are in a serious condition, to nearby hospitals.

    Most of the deceased were children and elderly. And local police have identified eight of the 11 bodies at the two hospitals in the town.

    Moreover, according to South Koran state-run KBS television station, there were only several persons designated to keep order on the spot, apparently falling short of the need.

    The KBS also said audience all wanted to get the front row of seats since the concert is free of charge.

    Television footage showed there were many shoes scattered on the ground near the entrance of the stadium.

    The concert organizer the MBC television station also expressed its condolences to the victims after sending a fact-finding mission to the area.

    In its evening prime-time news, MBC also said it would discuss compensation for the victims with Sangju City officials.

    The music concert, which was canceled rightly after the tragedy occurred, was a part of a local three-day festival aimed at promoting the use of bicycles. South Korean people are on their three-day holiday from last Saturday.

    Monday is the National Foundation Day of South Korea, which marked the 4,337th anniversary of the accession of King Dangun, who according to legend was the founder of the first Korean dynasty. Enditem