South Korea mourns victims of Halloween tragedy
South Korea has declared a period of national mourning after a Halloween crush killed at least 151 people in a packed nightlife area in Seoul.
President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed condolences to the victims, mostly teenagers and people in their 20s
“This is truly tragic. A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night.” Yoon said in a statement.
Yoon held an emergency meeting with senior aides and ordered a task force be set up to secure resources to treat the injured and launch a thorough investigation into the cause of the disaster.
A huge crowd of costumed partygoers, mostly teenagers and young adults, celebrating in the popular Itaewon district surged into an alley on Saturday night to enjoy South Korea’s first Halloween celebration since it lifted Covid restrictions.
With the easing of the COVID pandemic, curfews on bars and restaurants and a limit of 10 people for private gatherings were lifted in April. An outdoor mask mandate was dropped in May.
Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said 151 deaths had been confirmed, including 19 foreigners.
He said all the deaths were likely from the crush in the alley. Adding that 82 people were injured, 19 of them seriously. Many of those killed were near a nightclub.
Choi said many of the victims were women in their 20s, while the foreigners killed included people from China, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway.
Witnesses described the crowd becoming increasingly unruly and agitated as the evening deepened.
Chaos erupted just before the 10:20 p.m. (1320 GMT) stampede, with police on hand for the event at times struggling to control the crowds, witnesses said.
Fire officials and witnesses said people continued to pour into the alley after it was already packed wall-to-wall, when those at the top of the slope fell, sending people below them toppling over others.
Social media footage showed hundreds of people packed in the narrow, sloped alley crushed and immobile as emergency officials and pol ice tried to pull them free.
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The Itaewon district is popular with young South Koreans and expatriates alike, its dozens of bars and restaurants packed on Saturday for Halloween after businesses had suffered a sharp decline over three years of the pandemic.
Condolences
U.S. President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden sent their condolences, writing: “We grieve with the people of the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a quick recovery to all those who were injured.”
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “All our thoughts are with those currently responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.”
The Halloween disaster is among the country’s deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.
Zainab Sa’id
