At least 154 people and 82 others were wounded in South Korea’s worst disaster in years. Thousands of people gathered to celebrate Halloween in Seoul became trapped and crushed as the crowd moved into a narrow alley.
Emergency workers and passersby desperately performed CPR on people lying in the streets after the stampede in the capital’s nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday night.
According to Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, those killed or hurt were mostly teens and youngsters in their 20s.
There were19 foreigners among the dead, but their nationalities weren’t immediately released. The death toll could rise further as more than a dozen of those injured were in critical condition.
Over 100,000 people had gathered in Itaewon for the country’s biggest outdoor Halloween festivities since the pandemic began and strict rules on gatherings were imposed.
The South Korean government eased COVID-19 restrictions in recent months and this was the first big chance to get out and party for many young people.
While Halloween isn’t a traditional holiday in South Korea, where children rarely go trick-or-treating, it’s still a major attraction for young adults with many donning costumes on the streets, popular bars and clubs.
Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of U.S. military forces in South Korea operated before moving out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly region known for its trendy joints, clubs, and restaurants the city’s marquee Halloween destination.
By Friday evening, streets of Itaewon had become densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles. On Saturday, when the tragic incident occurred, it became practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley in time to treat the injured.
Seoul’s city government said more than 1,000 people have called a city office in nearby Hannam-dong as of midday Saturday, reporting their relatives as out of contact and asking officials to confirm whether they were among those injured or dead after the crush in Itaewon.
Officials initially said 150 people were injured as of Sunday morning before later lowering their tally.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a national mourning period on Sunday and ordered flags at government buildings and public offices to fly at half-staff. During a televised speech, Yoon sympathised with families of victims and called for officials to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and review the safety of other large cultural and entertainment events, including regional festivals, to avoid such from happening again.
It was not immediately clear what led the crowd to surge into the narrow downhill alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party spot in Seoul. One survivor said many people fell and toppled one another “like dominos” after they were pushed by others.
The last South Korean disaster this deadly also hit young people the most. In April 2014, 304 people, mostly high school students, died in a ferry sinking. The sinking exposed lax safety rules and regulatory failures.