Debris including a shoe are seen, Sunday, near the scene where over 150 people died and dozens more were injured the night before, after a mass of mostly young people celebrating Halloween became trapped and crushed as the crowd surged in a narrow alley. Yonhap

Yoon declares period of national mourning; 26 foreign nationals from 14 countries among dead

By Jung Min-ho

A festive night in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in Seoul, suddenly turned deadly, Saturday, in one of Korea's worst peacetime disasters.

The tragedy occurred among people crammed into a narrow, inclined alley next to Hamilton Hotel. As of 10 p.m., officials have confirmed that 154 people have died and 133 others were injured. Most of the victims were in their late teens and 20s. Given that some of the injured were in serious condition, the death toll could rise further.

Except one, all the other 153 deceased victims have been identified, including 26 foreign nationals from China, Iran, Russia, the United States, France, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Norway, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Austria and two other countries, police said.

Fire authorities received the first reports of the incident at around 10:15 p.m. Witnesses said people "fell like dominoes" abruptly and started screaming for help.

"After some people slipped and fell, others fell like dominoes and no one seemed to be able to crawl out of it," a witness told the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times. "It was total chaos."

Police officers stand guard at the entrance to an alley, Sunday, where a deadly accident took place the night before in Seoul's Itaewon. AP-Yonhap

With the streets so densely packed and noisy with huge crowds, emergency workers were unable to treat the patients quickly. Overwhelmed by the large number of victims, paramedics asked pedestrians to perform CPR. Emergency officials and doctors who later treated them in hospitals said most of the victims died of cardiac arrest as a result of asphyxiation due to pressure from being trapped under other bodies.

An estimated 100,000 people gathered in the area for the first Halloween since the lifting of remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Many of the partygoers were wearing Halloween costumes.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning the following day in a live address to the nation from his office. Yongsan District was designated as a special disaster zone.

President Yoon Suk-yeol visits the scene where over 150 people died in Seoul's Itaewon, Sunday. AP-Yonhap

"It's truly devastating," Yoon said. "The tragedy, which shouldn't have happened, took place in the middle of Seoul amid Halloween (weekend) … As a president responsible for the lives and safety of the people, I feel heavy-hearted and cannot contain my sadness."

Yoon said he will instruct the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and other relevant government agencies to carry out an emergency review of all big events planned for the coming months in an effort to prevent similar tragedies from ever occurring again. He then ordered a thorough investigation of the incident.

After his speech, Yoon visited the scene of the incident before presiding over an emergency meeting at the government complex in Seoul.

The Supreme Prosecutors' Office immediately launched an investigation team into the case. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon instructed prosecutors to cooperate closely with the police to find the cause of the incident.

Some witnesses claim that several young men deliberately shoved very hard people downhill from them while shouting "Push!" Others say some nearby stores refused to accept people who were trying to escape the crush at the last moment.

Emergency workers move the body of a victim of the crowd crush in Seoul, Saturday. Newsis

The Seoul city government said it will set up a temporary memorial site for the victims at Seoul Plaza. Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who had been on a business trip in Europe, decided to cut his trip short and returned to the city.

The leaders of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) expressed their condolences to the bereaved families and vowed to help them recover from the tragedy.

"The government and the ruling party will try our best for a [speedy] recovery," Rep. Chung Jin-suk, the PPP's interim chief, said during a meeting at the National Assembly. "Please be with us as we go through this disaster together."

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the DPK chairman, called it an "unbelievable, shocking" incident.

"I can't think of the words to console those who lost their family members or friends," he said. "We will focus on helping them recover fast. We should also support police, firefighters and medical workers in their recovery efforts."

The stampede was the deadliest incident in the nation's capital since the 1995 Sampoong Department Store collapse, which killed 502 people and injured 937 others. It was also the deadliest crushing disaster in Korean history. Previously, 31 people died in 1960 after being crushed on the stairs of a train station in Seoul as large crowds rushed to board a train bound for Mokpo during the Lunar New Year holiday. More recently, 11 people were killed and some 60 others were injured in 2005 at a pop concert in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province.