South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday declared national mourning and said in a TV message that the riot that left at least 153 dead next to the Itaewon subway station in Seoul was ” a tragedy and a disaster that should not have happened”. He said the government would carry out a “rigorous investigation” into the causes and would take steps to prevent such an episode from happening again.
The incident occurred around 22:00 local time this Saturday (10:00 GMT). Hundreds of people were pressed into an alley outside Exit 2 of the station during Seoul’s traditional Halloween celebration. Some victims were trampled to death and others were asphyxiated by the crowd, in what is the worst tragedy in the country since the Sewol sinking eight years ago, when 304 people died, most of them high school students.
Among the dead in Itaewon are at least 22 foreigners. According to a report from the Ministry of the Interior, the nationalities already confirmed are from the United States, Iran, China, Uzbekistan, Austria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Norway and Sri Lanka.
Itaewon is known for its intense nightlife, with bars, clubs and restaurants, and has a cosmopolitan and international character, with the presence of many tourists and foreigners. The region was once home to the main US military base in South Korea.
It is estimated that 100,000 people were on the streets of the neighborhood on Saturday night, according to the local press, celebrating the first Halloween in the last three years without the restrictions of the pandemic. Many had their faces made up, wore masks and costumes.
Moon Ju-young, 21, told Reuters that the area “was at least ten times more crowded than usual” and that police struggled to maintain control of the crowd.
Videos on social media show rescuers trying to resuscitate people lying on the asphalt with chest massages, and firefighters carrying stretchers with bodies covered in plastic bags. Many of the victims were women in their 20s, according to the Fire Department.
This Sunday, US President Joe Biden, Biden expressed condolences to the families of the victims and wished a speedy recovery for the injured: “The US stands with the Republic of Korea during this tragic time”.
Pope Francis dedicated his Sunday prayer to South Koreans “who died as a tragic consequence of the sudden uproar of the crowd”.
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