BackSouth Korea Halloween stampede 'should not have happened': President Yoon
South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol said on Sunday that a deadly stampede at a Halloween event which killed at least 149 people and injured scores more should not have happened.
PremiumOn Sunday, South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol said that a stampede at a Halloween event that killed at least 149 people and injured scores more "should not have happened".
"In the centre of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened," Yoon said in a national address, vowing to "thoroughly investigate" the incident and ensure it could never happen again.
An emergency meeting with senior aides was presided over by President Yoon Suk-yeol, who ordered the formation of a task force to secure resources for treating the injured and launch a thorough investigation into the disaster's cause.
On Saturday night, a large crowd celebrating Halloween surged into an alley in a nightlife area of the South Korean capital Seoul, killing mostly young adults in their 20s.
After COVID restrictions and social distance were lifted, this was Seoul's first Halloween celebration in three years. Halloween costumes and masks were worn by many partygoers.
As the evening progressed, some witnesses stated that the crowd became increasingly disorderly and agitated. The incident took place at about 10:20 p.m. (1320 GMT).
Many of the victims were women in their twenties.
Witnesses described tumultuous scenes just prior to the stampede, with the police, who were present in anticipation of the Halloween event, at times having difficulty controlling the crowd.
"It was at least more than 10 times crowded than usual," Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said in a briefing at the scene.
The footage shared on social media showed hundreds of people crammed into the narrow, sloped alley and rendered helpless as emergency personnel and police attempted to free them.
According to Choi, the fire chief of the Yongsan district, all of the deaths were likely caused by the crush in the one narrow alley.
The chaotic treatment of dozens of people who appeared to be unconscious by citizens and fire officials was captured on additional footage.
Fire officials and witnesses said people continued to pour into the narrow alley that was already packed wall-to-wall, when those at the top of the sloped street fell, sending people below them toppling over others.
After experiencing a sharp decline in business over the course of the pandemic's three years, the Itaewon district's dozens of bars and restaurants were packed on Saturday for Halloween, drawing young South Koreans and expats alike.
Two foreigners were among the dead, and others were transferred to nearby hospitals.
Nineteen of the injured were in serious condition and receiving emergency treatment, the officials said, adding the death toll could rise.
With inputs from agencies*
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