By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM (Related Press)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A mass of largely younger folks celebrating Halloween in Seoul turned trapped and crushed as the gang surged right into a slim alley, killing at the very least 151 folks and injuring 82 others in South Korea’s worst catastrophe in years.
Emergency employees and pedestrians desperately carried out CPR on folks mendacity within the streets after the crush within the capital’s nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday night time.
These killed or harm have been largely teenagers and other people of their 20s, in line with Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fireplace division. The useless included 19 foreigners, he mentioned, whose nationalities weren’t instantly launched. The dying toll might rise additional as 19 of these injured have been in essential situation.
An estimated 100,000 folks had gathered in Itaewon for the nation’s greatest outside Halloween festivities because the pandemic started and strict guidelines on gatherings have been enforced. The South Korean authorities eased COVID-19 restrictions in latest months and this was the primary huge probability to get out and occasion for a lot of younger folks.
Whereas Halloween isn’t a standard vacation in South Korea, the place youngsters not often go trick-or-treating, it’s nonetheless a serious attraction for younger adults, and costume events at bars and golf equipment have turn into vastly standard lately.
Itaewon, close to the place the previous headquarters of U.S. navy forces in South Korea operated earlier than transferring out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district identified for its stylish bars, golf equipment and eating places and it’s town’s marquee Halloween vacation spot.
Officers initially mentioned 150 folks have been injured as of Sunday morning earlier than later decreasing their tally.
Nationwide Fireplace Company officers didn’t instantly clarify why the tally was lowered however mentioned emergency employees would have had a extra correct thought of the casualties as rescue operations proceeded and that a number of the injured would have been transformed to deaths. It was additionally attainable that a few of those that have been flippantly injured had returned house in a single day and have been now not counted.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a nationwide mourning interval on Sunday and ordered flags at authorities buildings and public workplaces to be raised at half-staff. Throughout a televised speech, Yoon mentioned supporting the households of the victims, together with their funeral preparations, and the therapy of the injured can be a prime precedence for his authorities.
He additionally known as for officers to totally examine the reason for the accident and evaluate the security of different giant cultural and leisure occasions, together with regional festivals, to make sure that they proceed safely.
“That is actually devastating. The tragedy and catastrophe that needn’t have occurred happened within the coronary heart of Seoul amid Halloween (celebrations),” Yoon mentioned in the course of the speech. “I really feel heavy hearted and can’t comprise my unhappiness as a president chargeable for the folks’s lives and security.”
After the speech, Yoon visited the Itaewon alley the place the catastrophe occurred. Native TV footage confirmed Yoon inspecting the alley crammed with trash and being briefed by emergency officers.
It was not instantly clear what led the gang to surge into the slim downhill alley close to the Hamilton Resort, a serious occasion spot in Seoul. One survivor mentioned many individuals fell and toppled each other “like dominos” after they have been pushed by others. The survivor, surnamed Kim, mentioned they have been trapped for about an hour and a half earlier than being rescued, as some folks shouted “Assist me!” and others have been wanting breath, in line with the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.
One other survivor, Lee Chang-kyu, mentioned he noticed about 5 to 6 males push others earlier than one or two started falling, in line with the newspaper.
In an interview with information channel YTN, Hwang Min-hyeok, a customer to Itaewon, mentioned it was stunning to see rows of our bodies close to the lodge. He mentioned emergency employees have been initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians struggling to manage CPR to the injured mendacity on the streets. Folks wailed beside the our bodies of their associates, he mentioned.
One other survivor in his 20s mentioned he averted being trampled by managing to get right into a bar whose door was open within the alley, Yonhap information company reported. A girl in her 20s surnamed Park advised Yonhap that she and others have been standing alongside the facet of the alley whereas others caught in the midst of the alley had no escape.
Choi, the fireplace division chief, mentioned that our bodies have been being despatched to hospitals or a fitness center, the place bereaved members of the family might establish them. He mentioned many of the useless and injured are of their 20s.
“Horrific information from Seoul tonight,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted. “All our ideas are with these at present responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.”
Jake Sullivan, the U.S. nationwide safety adviser, tweeted that reviews of the catastrophe have been “heartbreaking” and mentioned Washington “stands prepared to supply the Republic of Korea with any assist it wants.”
The final South Korean catastrophe this lethal additionally hit younger folks the toughest. In April 2014, 304 folks, largely highschool college students, died in a ferry sinking. The sinking uncovered lax security guidelines and regulatory failures; it was partially blamed on extreme and poorly mounted cargo and a crew poorly skilled for emergency conditions. Saturday’s deaths will probably draw public scrutiny of what authorities officers have executed to enhance public security requirements because the ferry catastrophe.
It was additionally Asia’s second main crushing catastrophe in a month. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear fuel at a soccer match, inflicting a crush that killed 132 folks as spectators tried to flee.
Greater than 1,700 response personnel from throughout the nation have been deployed to the streets to assist the wounded, together with about 520 firefighters, 1,100 cops and 70 authorities employees. The Nationwide Fireplace Company individually mentioned in an announcement that officers have been nonetheless attempting to find out the precise variety of emergency sufferers.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol issued an announcement calling for officers to make sure swift therapy for these injured and evaluate the security of the festivity websites.
This was the deadliest crushing catastrophe in South Korean historical past. In 2005, 11 folks have been killed and round 60 others have been injured at a pop live performance within the southern metropolis of Sangju.
In 1960, 31 folks died after being crushed on the steps of a practice station as giant crowds rushed to board a practice in the course of the Lunar New Yr holidays.
