Worried relatives rushed to hospitals in search of their loved ones on Sunday as South Korea mourned the deaths of more than 150 people, most in their 20s and 30s, who were trapped and crushed after a huge Halloween party crowd entered a narrow alley in a night life. Seoul district.
Witnesses said Saturday night’s surge in the Itaewon district led to chaos “like hell” as people fell on top of each other “like dominoes.” Some witnesses said some people were bleeding from the nose and mouth as they administered CPR, while others dressed in Halloween costumes continued to sing and dance nearby, possibly unaware of the seriousness of the situation.
“I still can’t believe what happened. It was like hell,” said Kim Mi Sung, an official at a non-profit organization that promotes tourism in Itaewon.
Kim said he performed CPR on 10 people who were unconscious; nine of them were declared dead on the spot. Kim said the 10 were mostly women wearing witches and other Halloween costumes.
Rescuers treat injured people on the street in Seoul’s Itaewon district early Sunday. (Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press)
The crowd surge is the country’s worst disaster in years. As of Sunday evening local time, officials put the death toll at 153 and the number of injured at 133. The Ministry of Interior and Security said the death toll could rise further as 37 of the injured were in serious condition.
Ninety-seven of the dead were women and 56 were men. More than 80% of the dead are in their 20s and 30s, but at least four were teenagers.
An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country’s biggest outdoor Halloween parties since the pandemic began and strict rules on gatherings were enforced. The South Korean government eased the COVID-19 restrictions in recent months and this was the first big chance to go out and party for many young people.
A street in the Itaewon district is shown crowded with people before the stampede. Some of the faces have been digitized by Yonhap News Agency. (Yonhap/Reuters)
Witnesses say the streets were so densely packed with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was virtually impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley near the Hamilton Hotel.
20 foreigners among the dead
South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Security said the dead included at least 20 foreigners from China, Iran, Russia, the United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Australia, Sri Lanka and Norway, with several people still unidentified.
China’s state news agency Xinhua said at least three Chinese citizens were killed. Two Japanese citizens, a woman in her 20s and another girl or woman aged between 10 and 19, were confirmed dead, a Japanese foreign ministry official said.
Global Affairs Canada said Sunday it is “aware that a Canadian was injured in the mass casualty incident.”
Rescuers and firefighters try to help the injured near the scene on Sunday. (Lee Jin-man/The Associated Press)
Although Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, where children rarely go trick-or-treating, it remains a big attraction for young adults, and costume parties at bars and nightclubs have become very popular in the last years
Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of US military forces operated in South Korea before leaving the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district known for its bars, nightclubs and restaurants. fashion and is the city’s most prominent Halloween destination.
Period of national mourning
Authorities said thousands of people have called or visited an office in a nearby city, reporting missing family members and asking officials to confirm whether they were among the injured or dead.
The bodies of the dead were kept in 42 hospitals in the capital, Seoul, and nearby Gyeonggi province, according to the city of Seoul, which said it will order crematoria to burn more bodies a day as part of plans to support the funeral procedures
A woman uses a phone near the scene of the tragedy on Sunday. (Kim Hong-ji/Reuters)
About 100 businesses in the area of the Hamilton Hotel have agreed to close their shops until Monday to reduce the number of revelers who would take to the streets on Halloween.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a period of national mourning on Sunday and ordered flags on government buildings and public offices to fly at half-mast. During a televised speech, Yoon said supporting the victims’ families, including funeral preparations, and treating the injured would be a top priority for his government.
He also asked officials to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and review the safety of other major cultural and entertainment events.
“This is truly devastating. The tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul in the middle of Halloween. [celebrations]Yoon said during the speech. “I feel heavy hearted and cannot contain my sadness as a president responsible for the lives and safety of the people.”
After the speech, Yoon visited the Itaewon alley where the disaster occurred.
It was not immediately clear what brought the crowd to the narrow drop-off alley near the Hamilton Hotel. One survivor said many people fell and knocked over each other “like dominoes” after being pushed by others. The survivor, surnamed Kim, said they were trapped for about an hour and a half before being rescued, as some people shouted “Help me!” and others were short of breath, according to the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.
Rows of bodies
Another survivor, Lee Chang-kyu, said he saw about five or six men pushing each other before one or two began to fall, according to the newspaper.
In an interview with news channel YTN, Hwang Min-hyeok, a visitor to Itaewon, said it was shocking to see rows of bodies near the hotel. He said emergency workers were initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians struggling to administer CPR to the injured lying in the street. People were crying next to the bodies of their friends, he said.
Relatives of missing people mourn at a community service center in Seoul on Sunday. (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
Another survivor in his 20s said he avoided being trampled by managing to enter a bar whose door was open in the alley, Yonhap news agency reported. A woman in her 20s surnamed Park told Yonhap that she and others were on the side of the alley while others trapped in the middle of the alley had no escape.
“Horrible news from Seoul tonight,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. “All our thoughts are with the current responders and all South Koreans at this distressing time.”
Jake Sullivan, the US national security adviser, tweeted that reports of the disaster were “heartbreaking” and said Washington “stands ready to provide the ROK with whatever support it needs.”
Second major disaster in a month
South Korea’s latest deadly disaster also hit young people hardest. In April 2014, 304 people, mostly high school students, died when a ferry sank. The collapse exposed lax safety standards and regulatory failures. It was partly blamed on excessive and poorly secured cargo and a crew poorly trained for emergency situations. Saturday’s deaths are likely to draw public scrutiny of what government officials have done to improve public safety standards since the ferry disaster.
It was also Asia’s second major disaster in a month. On October 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a soccer match, causing a stampede that killed 132 people as spectators tried to flee.