More than 150 people have been killed in a stampede at a Halloween occasion in Seoul, officers stated Sunday, with South Korea’s president vowing an intensive investigation into one of many nation’s worst-ever disasters.
The crowd surge and crush passed off in the capital’s widespread central Itaewon district, the place estimates recommend as many as 100 000 people — principally in their teenagers and 20s — went to rejoice Halloween Saturday evening, clogging the realm’s slender alleyways and winding streets.
President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a interval of nationwide mourning Sunday, telling the nation in a televised handle that “a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened”.
He stated the federal government “will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again”.
Witnesses described being trapped in a slender, sloping alleyway, and scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd as people piled on high of each other.
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“There were so many people just being pushed around and I got caught in the crowd and I couldn’t get out at first,”
30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul instructed AFP.
The inside ministry stated 153 people had died, together with 20 foreigners, in the stampede, which occurred round 10 pm native time (1300 GMT).
Most of the victims have been younger ladies in their 20s, it stated, including that 133 people have been injured.
An official from the defence ministry stated three navy personnel have been among the many useless.
Authorities additionally stated that they had obtained greater than 2 600 reviews of people lacking.
‘Unprecedentedly large’
Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon, who rushed again to South Korea from a piece journey in Europe, stated his workplace would arrange a memorial altar so the general public might pay their respects to the victims, beginning Monday morning.
“Most of the casualties are young people like our sons and daughters, which makes it even more sad,”
Oh stated whereas visiting the positioning of the catastrophe.
Officials stated Sunday that they had no clear concept of what induced the crush, whereas witnesses described scenes of chaos after an enormous crowd panicked in the slender alleyway.
Local shopkeepers instructed AFP the variety of people on the annual celebration was “unprecedentedly large” this 12 months — the primary public occasion to be held with out Covid-19 restrictions because the pandemic started.
As questions started to emerge over an absence of safety on the occasion, inside minister Lee Sang-min instructed a briefing that the police pressure had been preoccupied on the opposite facet of city.
“A considerable number had been deployed at Gwanghwamun where a large crowd was expected for a protest,”
he stated.
Police had additionally not anticipated such a big crowd on the Halloween occasion, he added.
Paramedics on the scene, shortly overwhelmed by the variety of victims, have been asking passers-by to manage first support.
In an interview with native broadcaster YTN, Lee Beom-suk, a physician on the occasion, described the chaos.
“So many victims’ faces were pale. I could not catch their pulse or breathing and many of them had a bloody nose. When I tried CPR, I also drew blood out of their mouths.”
Photos captured by AFP confirmed scores of our bodies on the pavement coated by mattress sheets, and emergency staff loading extra our bodies on stretchers into ambulances.
‘Oh my God’
Twitter person @janelles_story shared a video that she stated confirmed Itaewon shortly earlier than the stampede in which tons of of younger people, many in elaborate Halloween costumes, are seen in a slender road lined with bars and cafes.
The crowd seems in good spirits at first, however then a commotion begins and people begin being pushed into each other. Screams and gasps are heard and a feminine voice cries out in English “Shit, shit!” adopted by “Oh my God, oh my God!”
The inside ministry stated the 20 foreigners killed included people from the United States, Uzbekistan, Austria, Norway, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Iran, and Sri Lanka.
The United States embassy in Seoul confirmed that two US nationals had died. Russia stated three of its residents have been killed.
China additionally confirmed that 4 of its nationals had died, with President Xi Jinping sending “deep condolences” to Seoul.
President Joe Biden stated the United States “stands with” South Korea after the tragedy, whereas Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated he was “hugely shocked and deeply saddened”.
© Agence France-Presse