At least 146 people were killed and 150 others injured when they were crushed by a large crowd moving down a narrow street during Halloween festivities in Seoul, officials said, making it one of Korea’s worst disasters of the South that will probably raise serious questions. on public safety rules.
The huge death toll is being tallied after people were crushed by a large advancing crowd in a narrow alley in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhoods, a major entertainment and nightlife district in the capital.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan Fire Department, said the death toll in the capital could rise and an unspecified number of injured were in critical condition after the stampede in Itaewon on Saturday at night
He said the bodies were being sent to hospitals or a gym, where grieving relatives could identify them. He said earlier that most of the dead and injured are in their 20s.
More than 1,700 response personnel were deployed from across the country, including about 520 firefighters and 1,100 police and 70 government workers. The National Fire Agency said in a statement that all available emergency workers in Seoul have been mobilized.
Emergency responders arrive at the scene in Seoul on Sunday. More than 800 emergency workers and police from around the country, including all available personnel in Seoul, were deployed on the streets to treat the injured. (Kim Hong-ji/Reuters)
An estimated 100,000 people gathered in Itaewon, near a former US military headquarters in an area known for trendy bars, nightclubs and restaurants, for Halloween parties in the air largest free in the country since the pandemic began. The South Korean government eased COVID-19 restrictions in recent months.
One survivor said many people fell and crashed into each other “like dominoes” after being pushed by others in a narrow downhill alley near Itaewon’s Hamilton Hotel. The survivor, surnamed Kim, said some people shouted “Help me!” and others were short of breath. Kim described being trampled by others for about 1.5 hours before being rescued, according to Seoul’s Hankyoreh newspaper.
Another survivor, named Lee Chang-kyu, said he saw about five or six men start pushing each other before one or two began to fall one by one at the start of the stampede, according to the newspaper .
The stampede is the biggest disaster since 304 people, mostly high school students, died in a sinking ferry in April 2014. The sinking exposed lax safety standards and regulatory failures as it was partly blamed on an excessive and poorly secured cargo and a crew poorly trained for it. emergency situations. Friday’s stampede is likely to draw public criticism of government officials for what they have done to improve public safety standards since the ferry disaster.
An alley is cordoned off by authorities in Seoul on Sunday. Officials say people were believed to have been crushed to death after a large crowd began advancing in a narrow alley near the Hamilton Hotel, a major party venue in the South Korean capital. (Kim Hong-ji/Reuters)
Television footage and photographs showed ambulances lined up in the streets amid a heavy police presence and emergency workers carrying the injured on stretchers. Emergency workers and pedestrians were also seen performing CPR on people lying in the street. In one section, paramedics were seen checking the condition of a dozen or more people who were motionless under blue blankets.
In an interview with YTN news channel, Hwang Min-hyeok, one of the visitors to Itaewon, said it was shocking to see rows of bodies lying in the alley near the Hamilton 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, he said.
Another survivor in his 20s said he avoided being run over when he luckily walked into 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 were stuck in the middle.
A screenshot obtained from social media video shows a dense crowd during Halloween festivities in Seoul on Sunday. Local media said around 100,000 people attended, the largest turnout since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. (@DABAKLUSA/Reuters)
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued a statement asking officials to ensure prompt treatment for the injured and review the security of the party venues. He also ordered the Ministry of Health to quickly deploy disaster medical assistance teams and secure beds at the nearby hospital to treat the injured.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government issued emergency text messages urging people in the area to return home quickly.
There have been some deadly stampedes in South Korea in the past. In 2005, 11 people were killed and around 60 injured in a stampede at a pop concert in the southern city of Sangju. In 1992, a teenage girl died and dozens of others were injured during a stampede at a concert in Seoul by the American pop group New Kids on the Block.
Terrible news comes from Seoul. Canada offers its deepest condolences to the families and friends of those killed during yesterday’s Halloween festivities and wishes a speedy recovery to those injured. To our friends in South Korea, we are with you during this difficult time.
—@melaniejoly