South Korea probes Halloween crowd surge as nation mourns
South Korean police are investigating what caused a crowd surge that killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Seoul last weekend in the country’s worst disasters in years, as President Yoon Suk Yeol and other residents paid respects to the dead at temporary mourning sites.
Saturday’s deadly crowd surge was concentrated in a sloped, narrow alley in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood, a popular nightlife district, with witnesses and survivors recalling a “hell-like” chaos of people falling on each other “like dominoes.”
They say the entire Itaewon area was extremely jammed with slow-moving vehicles and partygoers clad in Halloween costumes, making it impossible for rescuers and ambulances to reach the crammed alleys in time.
As of Monday morning, the government said it has identified 153 of the 154 dead people and informed bereaved relatives of their identifications. Nearly two-thirds of the dead — 98 — were women. It said 149 others remain injured. The death count could rise farther as officials said 33 of the injured were in serious conditions.
South Korean President Yoon on Sunday declared a one-week national mourning period and ordered flags at government buildings and public offices to fly at half-staff.
PHOTOS BY AP
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