Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
South Korea’s first large Halloween celebration because the finish of Covid restrictions turned to tragedy on Saturday evening, when not less than 151 individuals, principally youngsters and younger adults, died as partygoers surged via a slender alley in a well-liked nightlife district in Seoul, officers mentioned.
Authorities are nonetheless investigating what brought on the incident, however Choi Seong-bum, chief of the Yongsan-gu Hearth Division, mentioned it was a “presumed stampede” and that many individuals fell, injuring not less than 82.
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 mentioned. “I pray for individuals who died in an sudden accident and hope that the injured will get better shortly.”
Revelers had poured into the Itaewon nightclub district on Saturday evening to get pleasure from South Korea’s first Halloween celebration since crowd limits and face masks guidelines imposed by the Covid pandemic had been lifted.
Witnesses mentioned that even earlier than the chaos broke out, partygoers had 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 they’d no option to talk, they might not breathe,” Witness Sung Sehyun instructed CNN. He mentioned the area 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 taking place throughout a struggle,” Witness Park Jung-Hoon, 21, instructed Reuters. “They had been doing CPR right here and there and other people had been dashing in as nothing was being managed. It was fully uncontrolled.”
Authorities obtained the primary reviews 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 not less than 81 individuals in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood reporting “problem respiratory.” However early solutions of a fuel leak or hearth had 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 help and queues of ambulances shaped to remove the injured.
Dozens of individuals had been transferred to close by amenities, mentioned Choi Jae-won, the pinnacle of Yongsan Well being Middle. The our bodies of the victims had been transferred to a number of hospital mortuaries, authorities added.
The Seoul metropolis authorities obtained reviews of lacking individuals as mates and households looked for individuals identified to be on the occasion who didn’t come house.
Because the solar rose on Sunday, law enforcement officials had 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.
Folks fly into Seoul from throughout Asia to have fun Halloween in Itaewon, and this yr’s occasion was seen as a welcome return of festivities after the pandemic. Accommodations and ticketed occasions within the neighborhood had been booked strong forward and enormous crowd had been anticipated.
Nevertheless, earlier than midnight, celebrations took a darkish flip, as the primary requires assist had been constructed from throughout the crowd.
Witness Sung mentioned he needed to push his means 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 other people get jammed collectively.”
The catastrophe prompted a large response of South Korean emergency employees. Greater than 1,700 emergency response forces had been dispatched, together with 517 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and about 70 authorities employees.
The vast majority of the casualties had been South Korean. Two international nationals died and 15 international nationals had been injured, Yongsan Hearth Dept Chief Choi Seong-bum mentioned.
The US State Division mentioned a US citizen was injured within the crush. “We’re working with native authorities to find out if any extra US residents had been affected and stand prepared to supply consular help,” the State Division official mentioned.
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 line with Senior Presidential Secretary for Public Relations Kim Eun-hye.
Yoon additionally ordered authorities to “quickly” establish the victims for the sake of apprehensive households, Kim mentioned.
The president additionally ordered authorities to safe emergency beds in hospitals close by and to implement swift rescue operations and therapy, presidential spokesman Lee Jae-Myung mentioned 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 a press release. “We grieve with the individuals of the Republic of Korea and ship our greatest needs for a fast restoration to all those that had been injured.”
“The alliance between our two international locations has by no means been extra vibrant or extra important – and the ties between our persons are stronger than ever. America stands with the Republic of Korea throughout this tragic time,” he wrote.
America authorities is able to present South Korea with “any assist it wants,” White Home Nationwide Safety Advisor Jake Sullivan wrote on Twitter Saturday.
“The reviews out of Seoul are heartbreaking. We’re fascinated by all those that misplaced family members and hoping for a fast restoration for these injured. America stands prepared to supply the Republic of Korea with any assist it wants,” Sullivan wrote.
Itaewon, as soon as shunned by locals as a seedy, purple gentle district, has remodeled into one in every of Seoul’s high celebration venues. Identified for its nightlife and classy eating places, the neighborhood involves life at evening.
Additionally it is house to Seoul’s thriving Muslim and homosexual communities, and situated close to a US military base.
