The Government of South Korea declared this Sunday national mourning after the stampede of people during the Halloween celebrations in Seoul that left at least 130 killed and 82 injured, and promised to investigate thoroughly the causes of the tragic event.
The Asian country woke up this Sunday shocked by the accident that took place in a steep alley near the Hamilton Hotel, in front of the Itaewon subway station, in a well-known nightlife area.
Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the event, which according to eyewitnesses, authorities and videos posted on social networks was caused by an excessive accumulation of people in a narrow alley that connects the main avenue of the neighborhood, Itaewon-ro, with a busy area of bars.
Hundreds of people were trapped there, many of whom died of suffocation, among the thousands who came to celebrate Halloween in Itaewon.
Celebration that ended in dozens of deaths
The images published on the internet show numerous people trapped in the alley while the emergency teams try to evacuate some of them, and also carry out resuscitation maneuvers on the victims.
Witnesses criticized the lack of police presence in a neighborhood famous for its nightlife that attracts tens of thousands of people every year around Halloween.
Likewise, South Korean public opinion wonders about the lack of foresight in a city accustomed to efficiently managing demonstrations in which thousands of people gather practically every weekend.
Many of the 153 deceased are in their twenties, and of that provisional figure, almost a hundred are women, according to the data provided by the department Yongsan fire department, who reported the 19 seriously injured, by which the final balance of deaths could be higher.
The authorities detailed that among the fatalities there are twenty foreigners, and mentioned among their countries of origin China, Japan, Austria, France, Norway, Russia, United States, Australia, Iran, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Sri Lanka.
The Government of Seoul reported that they have received 355 reports of missing persons that could be linked to the event, while the identification of all the victims of the incident continues.
Close to 500 Agents from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency were assigned this Sunday to investigate the scene of the event and identify the victims.
The alley where the tragedy occurred and the streets to the Ages were still cordoned off.
In the vicinity of the scene of the events, some people began to lay flowers and other offerings in memory of the victims, while the Government announced that this Monday altars will be placed for this purpose in a square in Itaewon and in the square in front of the city hall of Seoul.
A week of national mourning
The president of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, announced the beginning of a period of national mourning that will last until next Saturday, and promised an “in-depth investigation” into its causes.
The president stressed that the “top priority” of the Executive is in these moments is “to determine the causes of the accident and prevent similar incidents”, in addition to the tasks of assisting the victims and their relatives, during a televised speech hours after the accident.
The president conveyed his condolences s to the relatives of the victims of the event, and defined it as “horrible” and as “a tragedy and a disaster that should never have happened”, before traveling to Itaewon this Sunday.
The celebrations this year’s Halloween were the first massive ones since 2020, due to the restrictions applied by the pandemic since 2020.
In the years prior to the health crisis, the Itaewon neighborhood -famous for being next to a US military base and house a mosque that makes the area one of the most diverse in Seoul- had become the busiest point in the capital to celebrate this imported holiday.
The one the day before was the deadliest accident in the recent history of the Asian country since sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, which caused the death of 304 people, mostly high school students would say they were on an end-of-year trip.
With information from EFE
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