Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
Most weekends, the slim alleys of Itaewon, the neon-lit nightlife district in South Korea’s capital Seoul, are busy with partygoers and vacationers. Now it’s the positioning of one of many nation’s worst disasters.
On Saturday evening, tens of hundreds of individuals flooded into the world in central Seoul to have a good time Halloween – however panic erupted because the crowds swelled, with some witnesses saying it turned onerous to breathe and not possible to maneuver.
At the least 151 have been killed within the crush, with dozens extra injured. Authorities have now launched an pressing investigation to learn the way what was purported to be an evening of celebration went so horribly fallacious, as households throughout the nation mourn and seek for lacking family members.
Right here’s what we all know thus far.
Itaewon has lengthy been a well-liked place to have a good time Halloween, particularly as the vacation turned extra standard in Asia lately. Some even fly into Seoul from different international locations within the area for the festivities.
However for the previous two years, celebrations have been muted by pandemic restrictions on crowd sizes and masks mandates.
Saturday evening marked the primary Halloween for the reason that nation lifted these restrictions – lending it explicit significance for a lot of keen contributors in Seoul, in addition to worldwide guests together with overseas residents and vacationers.
Inns and ticketed occasions within the neighborhood had been booked stable upfront, and enormous crowds have been anticipated.
Witnesses instructed CNN there was little or no – if any – crowd management earlier than the mass of individuals turned lethal.
Movies and photographs posted to social media present folks crammed collectively, standing shoulder to shoulder within the slim avenue.
Crowds usually are not uncommon for that space, or for Seoul residents, who’re used to jam-packed subways and streets in a metropolis of virtually 10 million.
One eyewitness mentioned it took a while for folks to appreciate one thing was fallacious, with folks’s panicked screams competing with music blaring from the encircling golf equipment and bars.
After the primary emergency calls got here in round 10:24 p.m., authorities rushed to the scene – however the sheer quantity of individuals made it tough to succeed in those that wanted assist.
Video posted to social media confirmed folks performing compressions on different partygoers mendacity on the bottom as they waited for medical help.
The hundreds of individuals in Halloween costumes contributed to the widespread sense of confusion and chaos. One witness described seeing a police officer shouting throughout the catastrophe – however some revelers mistook him for one more partygoer.
The reason for the crush continues to be underneath investigation, although officers mentioned there have been no gasoline leaks or fires on web site.
The casualties have been younger, largely of their teenagers and early 20s, authorities mentioned. Recognized for its nightlife and classy eating places, Itaewon is standard amongst backpackers and worldwide college students.
Among the many 151 useless have been 19 overseas nationals, with victims from Iran, Norway, China, Thailand and Uzbekistan, in line with authorities.
Greater than 90% of the victims have been recognized, South Korea’s Minister of Inside and Security Lee Sang-min mentioned on Sunday.
He added that about 10 folks can’t be recognized, as some are underneath the age of 17 – too younger to carry a nationwide ID card – and others are overseas nationals.
As of two p.m. Sunday native time, Seoul authorities had acquired 3,580 lacking individuals stories, mentioned town authorities. That quantity may embrace a number of stories for a similar individual, or stories filed Saturday evening for individuals who have since been discovered.
Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Inside and Security, mentioned on Sunday that “a substantial quantity” of police and safety forces had been despatched to a different a part of Seoul on Saturday in response to anticipated protests there.
In the meantime in Itaewon, the group had not been unusually giant, he mentioned, so solely a “regular” stage of safety forces had been deployed there.
Because the catastrophe unfolded Saturday evening, greater than 1,700 emergency response forces have been dispatched, together with greater than 500 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and about 70 authorities employees.
President Yoon Suk Yeol referred to as an emergency assembly and urged officers to establish the useless as quickly as attainable.
However even hours later, households have been nonetheless ready to seek out out if their family members survived.
Within the rapid aftermath, many individuals have been transferred to close by amenities, whereas our bodies have been taken to a number of hospital mortuaries. Households gathered at websites close to the scene, the place officers have been compiling the names of the lacking and deceased.
Yoon promised to implement new measures to forestall comparable incidents from taking place once more, saying the federal government would “conduct emergency inspections not just for Halloween occasions but in addition for native festivals and completely handle them so they’re performed in an orderly and secure method.”
The federal government will even present psychological remedy and a fund for households of the deceased and injured. Authorities have declared a nationwide mourning interval till November 5, and designated the district of Yongsan-gu, the place Itaewon is situated, a particular catastrophe space.
This slim avenue was the scene of lethal incident in Seoul
As a shocked and grieving nation grapples with the tragedy, questions are additionally rising about how such a catastrophe may have unfolded in a well-liked space the place persons are identified to assemble.
It’s onerous to pinpoint what may need triggered the crush – however authorities “would have anticipated excessive numbers … earlier than Saturday evening,” mentioned Juliette Kayyem, a catastrophe administration knowledgeable and nationwide safety analyst for CNN.
“There’s a accountability on the a part of the authorities to be monitoring crowd quantity in actual time, to allow them to sense the necessity to get folks out,” she added.
Suah Cho, 23, was caught up within the crowd however managed to flee right into a constructing alongside the alley. When requested whether or not she had seen any officers attempting to restrict the variety of folks getting into the alley, she replied: “Earlier than the incident, under no circumstances.”
One other eyewitness described the scenario getting “worse and worse,” saying they may hear “folks asking for assist for different folks, as a result of there weren’t sufficient rescuers that may simply deal with all that.”
