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 location of one of many nation’s worst disasters.

On Saturday evening, tens of 1000’s of individuals flooded into the realm in central Seoul to have a good time Halloween – however panic erupted because the crowds swelled, with some witnesses saying it grew to become exhausting to breathe and unimaginable to maneuver.

A minimum of 151 had been killed within the crush, with dozens extra injured. Authorities have now launched an pressing investigation to learn how what was purported to be an evening of celebration went so horribly improper, as households throughout the nation mourn and seek for lacking family members.

Right here’s what we all know to this point.

Itaewon has lengthy been a preferred place to have a good time Halloween, particularly as the vacation grew to become extra fashionable in Asia lately. Some even fly into Seoul from different nations within the area for the festivities.

However for the previous two years, celebrations had been muted by pandemic restrictions on crowd sizes and masks mandates.

Saturday evening marked the primary Halloween because the nation lifted these restrictions – lending it explicit significance for a lot of keen members in Seoul, in addition to worldwide guests together with overseas residents and vacationers.

Motels and ticketed occasions within the neighborhood had been booked stable prematurely, and enormous crowds had been anticipated.

Witnesses informed CNN there was little or no – if any – crowd management earlier than the mass of individuals turned lethal.

Movies and images posted to social media present individuals crammed collectively, standing shoulder to shoulder within the slim avenue.

Crowds aren’t uncommon for that space, or for Seoul residents, who’re used to jam-packed subways and streets in a metropolis of just about 10 million.

One eyewitness stated it took a while for individuals to appreciate one thing was improper, with individuals’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 troublesome to achieve those that wanted assist.

Video posted to social media confirmed individuals performing compressions on different partygoers mendacity on the bottom as they waited for medical help.

The 1000’s of individuals in Halloween costumes contributed to the widespread sense of confusion and chaos. One witness described seeing a police officer shouting in the course of the catastrophe – however some revelers mistook him for an additional partygoer.

The reason for the crush continues to be underneath investigation, although officers stated there have been no fuel leaks or fires on website.

The casualties had been younger, principally of their teenagers and early 20s, authorities stated. Recognized for its nightlife and classy eating places, Itaewon is fashionable amongst backpackers and worldwide college students.

Among the many 151 useless had 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 stated on Sunday.

He added that about 10 individuals 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 reviews, stated town authorities. That quantity might embrace a number of reviews for a similar particular person, or reviews filed Saturday evening for individuals who have since been discovered.

Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Inside and Security, stated 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 massive, he stated, 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 had been dispatched, together with greater than 500 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, and about 70 authorities staff.

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 had been nonetheless ready to seek out out if their family members survived.

Within the instant aftermath, many individuals had been transferred to close by amenities, whereas our bodies had been taken to a number of hospital mortuaries. Households gathered at websites close to the scene, the place officers had been compiling the names of the lacking and deceased.

Yoon promised to implement new measures to forestall related incidents from taking place once more, saying the federal government would “conduct emergency inspections not just for Halloween occasions but additionally for native festivals and totally handle them so they’re carried out in an orderly and protected method.”

The federal government may also present psychological therapy 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 might have unfolded in a preferred space the place individuals are identified to assemble.

It’s exhausting to pinpoint what might need triggered the crush – however authorities “would have anticipated excessive numbers … earlier than Saturday evening,” stated Juliette Kayyem, a catastrophe administration knowledgeable and nationwide safety analyst for CNN.

“There’s a duty on the a part of the authorities to be monitoring crowd quantity in actual time, to allow them to sense the necessity to get individuals 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 individuals coming into the alley, she replied: “Earlier than the incident, in no way.”

One other eyewitness described the state of affairs getting “worse and worse,” saying they may hear “individuals asking for assist for different individuals, as a result of there weren’t sufficient rescuers that may simply deal with all that.”