Officials in South Korea said Monday that the government will conduct a thorough investigation into the Halloween crowd crush that killed more than 150 people in the capital over the weekend, as the country mourned its worst disaster in years.
Tens of thousands of people had gathered on Saturday in Itaewon, a popular foreign nightlife district in Seoul, when a crowd surge began in a sloped and narrow alleyway, sparking a deadly panic.
Many of the revellers were in their teens and twenties, dressed up for the country’s first non-Covid Halloween celebration in three years.
As of Monday morning, the death toll in the disaster had risen to 154, including two Americans and 24 other foreign nationals. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo stated that all but one of the victims had been identified
The number of injured increased to 149, with 33 in critical condition.
According to witnesses, there was insufficient police presence to control the crowds, which may have been larger than expected.
At a meeting, Han stated that officials “will thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and do our best to improve our institutional system so that similar accidents do not occur in the future.”
He also urged the public not to spread rumours, hate speech, or graphic videos from the scene.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has declared a week of national mourning, and memorials are being erected in front of City Hall and elsewhere in Itaewon.
While Halloween is not a traditional holiday in South Korea, Itaewon is famous for its costume parties at bars and clubs, which have become increasingly popular in recent years.
The crowd surge is the country’s deadliest peacetime accident since the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. This accident, which killed 304 people, also primarily affected young people.
