A survivor of the stampede that claimed the lives of 154 Halloween revelers in Seoul remembered the agony of seeing 40 dead sprawled around her after escaping the crowd.
Authorities are being criticized for poor crowd management when 100,000 people, largely in their teens and twenties and donning Halloween costumes to celebrate the first night out without Covid restrictions in three years, descended upon the streets of Itaewon.
137 officers were dispatched to the event, substantially more than in past years, according to a police briefing held today. However, according to witnesses, they were more concerned with drug usage than crowd control in the narrow, winding streets.
Students from the Netherlands and Italy, Mink and Federica, joined the celebrations on Saturday night while partygoers were being administered CPR on the floor.
Mink told the BBC, “At the end of the lane, I was surrounded by thirty to forty bodies.”
“Everyone was having a good time, smiling, acting crazy, and looking great.” It was simply not anything that could have been anticipated.
Two days after a fatal stampede happened in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul, police examine the site.
In front of a shared memorial shrine for victims of the catastrophic Halloween crowd surge, mourners pay their respects.
Today, mourners were observed crying, praying, and setting flowers at the official altar at shrines commemorating the 154 victims.
After 100,000 people flooded the streets of Itaewon, the government is being criticized for inadequate crowd management.
Federica continued, ‘Seoul is renowned for having cops around, so you always feel secure. It could have been managed better.
Today, mourners came to memorials honoring the 154 fatalities, where they were observed weeping, praying, and leaving flowers at the official altar erected for the victims, who were predominantly young women.
19-year-old student Hwang Gyu-hyeon told AFP, while crying and stumbling over her words, “I am devastated by what happened; they were just trying to have a good time.” She was explaining how the deaths of so many people her age had affected her.
I offer prayers for the victims. I cannot believe this disaster occurred despite the obvious warning flags. “No preparations were made for this crowd,” she stated.
Song Jung-hee, 69, stated that she could not stop thinking about how ‘happy and vibrant’ the young victims must have been, anxious to enjoy a night out for the first time in three years without Covid restraints.
Without mask restrictions or group limits, revelers were permitted to celebrate.
Today’s police briefing revealed that 137 officers were assigned to the event, much more than in prior years.
The victims were predominantly in their teens and twenties and wore Halloween costumes to enjoy the first night out in three years without Covid restrictions.
A Buddhist nun prays in remembrance of the victims at an impromptu monument outside a subway station.
Officers guard the scene of the tragic stampede in Itaewon, Seoul, as President Yoon Suk-Yeol pledges a comprehensive probe into one of the nation’s worst-ever tragedies.
This would not have occurred if there had been sufficient police officers to maintain order, she said AFP.
Dozens of mourners gathered at a makeshift monument outside a subway station in the popular Itaewon nightlife neighborhood, where the tragedy occurred, and many wiped away tears as they laid white chrysanthemum and bottles of soju on the altar.
One of the memorial’s plaques read, “At an age when you were all about to blossom like flowers… My heart is broken. I wish that all souls in heaven will rest in peace.
As apparent breaches in crowd control and policing emerged on Monday, calls for responsibility increased in the press and online.
‘This was a calamity that could have been controlled or prevented,’ Lee Young-ju, a professor at the University of Seoul’s Department of Fire and Disaster, told YTN.
The location of a stampede that occurred during Halloween festivities in Seoul is examined by investigators.
As apparent breaches in crowd control and policing emerged on Monday, calls for responsibility increased in the press and online.
Left: A view of the alleyway on a Sunday morning. As the police resumed their investigation into the incident, the area remained blocked off. The identical alleyway is observed just prior to the crush. Hundreds of people are depicted crammed into
Urgent efforts were made by emergency personnel to extract from the crowd those most in need of medical care.
However, this was not taken care of because no one first assumed responsibility.
Online, rumors circulated that police did not actively manage the crowd this year, allowing too many individuals to assemble around the subway station and in the alley at the epicenter of the incident.
Twitter user @isakchoi312 stated, “I’ve lived in Itaewon for ten years and celebrated Halloween every year, but yesterday wasn’t exceptionally crowded compared to previous years.”
Crowd control, I believe, was ultimately to blame for the calamity.
The government had supported the police strategy on Sunday.
Interior Minister Lee Sang-min stated at a press conference that sending police or firefighters in advance could not have prevented the crush.
Regular protest gatherings in South Korea are frequently so heavily policed that officers can outnumber protesters.
After at least 154 people were killed in a crush in Seoul, revelers in Halloween costumes are seen leaving the site.
Han Duck-soo, Prime Minister of Korea, inspects the scene of the horrific Halloween stampede.
By law, protest organizers must notify police in advance of their activities, but this was not a necessity for the young people attending the Itaewon Halloween gathering.
Tens of thousands of partygoers jammed into a 10-foot-wide lane downhill, with no police in sight to lead or manage the mob. Eyewitnesses described scenes of pandemonium, with people pushing and shoving to get through.
Witnesses recounted being stuck in a tight, sloping lane and unable to escape the crushing mob as individuals piled on top of one another.
The majority of the 154 victims, including 26 foreigners, were identified on Sunday; the education ministry confirmed on Monday that at least six adolescents were among the victims.
However, the death toll could grow further as at least 33 individuals are in critical condition, according to officials.
The nation began a week of national mourning by canceling entertainment events and concerts and displaying flags at half-staff.
</ad-slot