Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
South Korea’s first huge Halloween celebration for the reason that finish of Covid restrictions turned to tragedy on Saturday evening, when no less than 151 individuals, largely youngsters and younger adults, died as partygoers surged via a slender alley in a well-liked nightlife district in Seoul, officers stated.
Authorities are nonetheless investigating what induced the incident, however Choi Seong-bum, chief of the Yongsan-gu Hearth Division, stated it was a “presumed stampede” and that many individuals fell, injuring no less than 82. The lifeless included no less than 19 overseas nationals, he stated.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol convened an emergency assembly within the early hours of Sunday, and later addressed the nation to name a nationwide interval of mourning “till the dealing with of the accident is concluded.”
“A tragedy that ought to not have occurred occurred in the course of Seoul final evening on Halloween,” Yoon stated. “I pray for individuals who died in an sudden accident and hope that the injured will get well shortly.”
Tens of hundreds of revelers had poured into the Itaewon nightclub district on Saturday evening to take pleasure in South Korea’s first Halloween celebration since crowd limits and face masks guidelines imposed by the Covid pandemic have been lifted.
Witnesses stated that even earlier than the chaos broke out, partygoers have been packed so tightly within the slender streets that it was troublesome to maneuver round.
“I noticed individuals going to the left aspect and I noticed the particular person attending to the other aspect. So, the particular person within the center obtained jammed, so that they had no technique to talk, they may not breathe,” Witness Sung Sehyun informed CNN. He stated the house was like a “jammed subway.”
Video posted to social media confirmed individuals performing compressions on different partygoers mendacity on the bottom as they waited for medical assist.
“We noticed a scene from a film… like issues occurring throughout a struggle,” Witness Park Jung-Hoon, 21, informed Reuters. “They have been doing CPR right here and there and folks have been speeding in as nothing was being managed. It was fully uncontrolled.”
Authorities acquired the primary experiences of individuals “buried” in crowds round 10:24 p.m. on Saturday evening.
Yonhap Information Company reported that some individuals had suffered from “cardiac arrest,” attributing the assertion to fireside authorities. Emergency officers assisted no less than 81 individuals in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood reporting “issue respiratory.” However early ideas of a fuel leak or fireplace have been discounted.
Police closed off the realm and social media movies confirmed individuals sporting Halloween costumes mendacity within the streets and on stretchers as first responders rendered support and queues of ambulances shaped to remove the injured.
Dozens of individuals have been transferred to close by amenities, stated Choi Jae-won, the top of Yongsan Well being Heart. The our bodies of the victims have been transferred to a number of hospital mortuaries, authorities added.
The Seoul metropolis authorities acquired experiences of lacking individuals as buddies and households looked for individuals recognized to be on the occasion who didn’t come house.
Because the solar rose on Sunday, law enforcement officials have been seen scanning the sidewalk for private belongings and items of identification as they tried to find out the ultimate variety of injured and lifeless.
Individuals fly into Seoul from throughout Asia to have fun Halloween in Itaewon, and this 12 months’s occasion was seen as a welcome return of festivities after the pandemic. Accommodations and ticketed occasions within the neighborhood had been booked stable forward and huge crowd have been anticipated.
Nevertheless, earlier than midnight, celebrations took a darkish flip, as the primary requires assist have been created from inside the crowd.
Witness Sung stated he needed to push his approach via the throng earlier within the evening to get away from the busy streets. “I used to be fortunate to get via (however an) hour later, I heard individuals obtained killed. As a result of it was individuals get stamped on. … and folks get jammed collectively.”
The catastrophe prompted an enormous response of South Korean emergency staff. Greater than 1,700 emergency response forces have been dispatched, together with 517 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and about 70 authorities staff.
The US State Division stated a US citizen was injured within the crush. “We’re working with native authorities to find out if any further US residents have been affected and stand prepared to supply consular help,” the State Division official stated.
Within the early hours of Sunday, President Yoon held an emergency assembly with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and ordered Inside and Security Minister Lee Sang-min to start an investigation into the reason for the incident, in response to Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations Kim Eun-hye.
Yoon additionally ordered authorities to “quickly” determine the victims for the sake of apprehensive households, Kim stated.
The president additionally ordered authorities to safe emergency beds in hospitals close by and to implement swift rescue operations and remedy, presidential spokesman Lee Jae-Myung stated in a briefing.
US President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to those that misplaced family members within the catastrophe.
“Jill and I ship our deepest condolences to the households who misplaced family members in Seoul,” he wrote in an announcement. “We grieve with the individuals of the Republic of Korea and ship our greatest needs for a fast restoration to all those that have been injured.”
“The alliance between our two international locations has by no means been extra vibrant or extra very important – and the ties between our persons are stronger than ever. The US stands with the Republic of Korea throughout this tragic time,” he wrote.
The US authorities is able to present South Korea with “any help it wants,” White Home Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter Saturday.
“The experiences out of Seoul are heartbreaking. We’re interested by all those that misplaced family members and hoping for a fast restoration for these injured. The US stands prepared to supply the Republic of Korea with any help it wants,” Sullivan wrote.
Itaewon, as soon as shunned by locals as a seedy, pink gentle district, has reworked into one in all Seoul’s prime occasion venues. Recognized for its nightlife and classy eating places, the neighborhood involves life at evening.
It is usually house to Seoul’s thriving Muslim and homosexual communities, and positioned close to a US military base.
