By KIM TONG-HYUNG and HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Involved relations raced to hospitals searching for their family members Sunday as South Korea mourned the deaths of greater than 150 individuals, largely of their 20s and 30s, who acquired trapped and crushed after an enormous Halloween celebration crowd surged right into a slender alley in a nightlife district in Seoul.
Witnesses stated the gang surge Saturday evening within the Itaewon space brought about “a hell-like” chaos as individuals fell on one another “like dominoes.” Some individuals had been bleeding from their noses and mouths whereas being given CPR, witnesses stated, whereas others clad in Halloween costumes continued to sing and dance close by, presumably with out figuring out the severity of the state of affairs.
“I nonetheless can’t imagine what has occurred. It was like a hell,” stated Kim Mi Sung, an official at a nonprofit group that promotes tourism in Itaewon.
Kim stated she carried out CPR on 10 individuals who had been unconscious and 9 of them had been declared useless on the spot. Kim stated the ten had been largely girls carrying witch outfits and different Halloween costumes.
The gang surge is the nation’s worst catastrophe in years. As of Sunday night, officers put the loss of life toll at 153 and the variety of injured individuals at 133. The Ministry of the Inside and Security stated the loss of life rely might additional rise as 37 of the injured individuals had been in severe circumstances.
Ninety-seven of the useless had been girls and 56 had been males. Greater than 80% of the useless are of their 20s and 30s, however no less than 4 had been youngsters.
At the very least 20 of the useless are foreigners from China, Russia, Iran and elsewhere. There’s one American among the many useless, the Inside Ministry stated in a launch.
An estimated 100,000 individuals had gathered in Itaewon for the nation’s greatest outside Halloween festivities because the pandemic started. The South Korean authorities had eased COVID-19 restrictions in current months.
Witnesses stated the streets had been so densely clogged with individuals and slow-moving automobiles that it was virtually inconceivable for emergency staff and ambulances to achieve the alley close to Hamilton Resort swiftly.
Authorities stated hundreds of individuals have known as or visited a close-by metropolis workplace, reporting lacking relations and asking officers to substantiate whether or not they had been amongst these injured or useless after the crush.
The our bodies of the useless had been being saved at 42 hospitals in Seoul and close by Gyeonggi province, in keeping with Seoul Metropolis, which stated it’ll instruct crematories to burn extra our bodies per day as a part of plans to assist funeral proceedings.
Round 100 companies within the Hamilton Resort space have agreed to close down their outlets by Monday to scale back the variety of partygoers who would come to the streets by Halloween day.
Whereas Halloween isn’t a standard vacation in South Korea — the place youngsters not often go trick-or-treating — it’s nonetheless a significant attraction for younger adults, and costume events at bars and golf equipment have grow to be vastly well-liked lately.
Itaewon, close to the place the previous headquarters of U.S. army forces in South Korea operated for many years earlier than transferring out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district recognized for its fashionable bars, golf equipment and eating places. It’s the town’s marquee Halloween vacation spot.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a one-week nationwide mourning interval on Sunday and ordered flags at authorities buildings and public places of work to fly at half-staff. Throughout a televised speech, Yoon stated supporting the households of the victims, together with their funeral preparations, and the remedy of the injured can be a high precedence for his authorities.
He additionally known as for officers to completely examine the reason for the accident and evaluation the security of different massive cultural and leisure occasions to make sure they proceed safely.
“That is actually devastating. The tragedy and catastrophe that needn’t have occurred befell within the coronary heart of Seoul amid Halloween (celebrations),” Yoon stated through the speech. “I really feel heavy hearted and can’t comprise my unhappiness as a president chargeable for the individuals’s lives and security.”
After the speech, Yoon visited the Itaewon alley the place the catastrophe occurred. Native TV footage confirmed Yoon inspecting the alley crammed with trash and being briefed by emergency officers.
It was not instantly clear what led the gang to surge into the slender, downhill alley. One survivor stated many individuals fell and toppled each other “like dominoes” after they had been pushed by others.
The survivor, surnamed Kim, stated they had been trapped for about an hour and a half earlier than being rescued, as some individuals shouted “Assist me!” and others had been in need of breath, in keeping with the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.
One other survivor, Lee Chang-kyu, stated he noticed about 5 – 6 males push others earlier than one or two started falling, in keeping with the newspaper.
In an interview with information channel YTN, Hwang Min-hyeok, a customer to Itaewon, stated it was surprising to see rows of our bodies close to the lodge. He stated emergency staff had been initially overwhelmed, leaving pedestrians struggling to manage CPR to the injured mendacity on the streets. Individuals wailed beside the our bodies of their associates, he stated.
A person in his 20s stated he prevented being trampled by managing to get right into a bar whose door was open within the alley, Yonhap information company reported. A lady in her 20s surnamed Park instructed Yonhap that she and others had been standing alongside the aspect of the alley whereas others caught in the midst of the alley had no escape.
Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan hearth division, stated that our bodies had been being despatched to hospitals or a gymnasium, the place bereaved relations might determine them.
World leaders provided condolences, together with Pope Francis.
“We pray the Risen Lord additionally for these — particularly younger individuals — who died final evening in Seoul, as a result of tragic penalties of a sudden crush,” Francis stated after his Sunday’s Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Sq., inviting the gang to wish for the victims.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted that “All our ideas are with these at the moment responding and all South Koreans at this very distressing time.” Jake Sullivan, the U.S. nationwide safety adviser, tweeted that stories of the catastrophe had been “heartbreaking” and stated Washington “stands prepared to offer the Republic of Korea with any assist it wants.”
Among the many 20 international useless are 4 from China; three from Russia; two from Iran; and one every from Vietnam, Austria, Norway, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka and america. The Inside Ministry stated it wasn’t knowledgeable of the nationalities of the 4 different foreigners.
The Japanese Overseas Ministry stated two of its nationals had been among the many useless, whereas the French Overseas Ministry stated one French nationwide additionally died through the Itaewon tragedy.
The final South Korean catastrophe this lethal additionally hit younger individuals the toughest. In April 2014, 304 individuals, largely highschool college students, died in a ferry sinking. The sinking uncovered lax security guidelines and regulatory failures. It was partially blamed on extreme and poorly mounted cargo and a crew poorly educated for emergency conditions.
Saturday’s deaths will doubtless draw public scrutiny of what authorities officers have accomplished to enhance public security requirements because the ferry catastrophe.
This was the deadliest crushing catastrophe in South Korean historical past. In 2005, 11 individuals had been killed and round 60 others had been injured at a pop live performance within the southern metropolis of Sangju.
In 1960, 31 individuals died after being crushed on the steps of a prepare station as massive crowds rushed to board a prepare through the Lunar New 12 months holidays.
It was additionally Asia’s second main crushing catastrophe in a month. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gasoline at a soccer match, inflicting a crush that killed 132 individuals as spectators tried to flee.
Greater than 1,700 response personnel from throughout the nation had been deployed to the streets to assist the wounded, together with about 520 firefighters, 1,100 cops and 70 authorities staff. The Nationwide Hearth Company individually stated in a press release that officers had been nonetheless making an attempt to find out the precise variety of emergency sufferers.
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Related Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Giada Zampano in Rome and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.