DDHK. ORG - Halloween Itaewon Korea South this year claimed the lives of 153 people died. Halloween Festival in Itaewon district, Seoul, leaving duka deep for South Korea.
Reporting from Kompas.com, 153 people died because of the terrible crowds at the biggest Halloween party after the Covid-19 restrictions were opened.
The incident happened on a narrow side street near Itaewon station that connects many bars and clubs from the main road.
Tens of thousands of people flock to the streets of Itaewon for Halloween, gathering and having fun. An estimated 100.000 people came to party on Saturday (29/10/2022). For the first time since Covid, the number of people gathering is not limited and visitors do not need to wear masks outside.
Although Halloween is not a traditional Korean holiday, it has become an annual celebration tradition and Itaewon is known as a place to hold such events.
As of Sunday (30/10/2022), the remains of the incident are still clearly plastered on the streets of Itaewon. On Sunday afternoon, residents gathered behind police tape around Itaewon station to pay their respects to the victims and try to understand what happened a few hours earlier.
The Cause of the Itaewon Tragedy
The Itaewon tragedy is claimed to be one of the worst disasters South Korea has experienced in years. The exact cause of the mob is still unknown, but many residents behind police lines want to share their theories.
“This is bound to happen. There should be crowd control,” said one resident, quoted by The Guardian.
Some claim a well-known vlogger has taken to the streets, causing quite a stir in an already crowded area.
Kim Ye-ji, a young woman from Seoul who is celebrating Halloween, arrives to lay flowers near the Itaewon station exit. According to him, the picture of body bags lining the streets is very disappointing and invites tears.
Survivors of the Halloween Tragedy in Seoul recounted their horror experience of watching friends and strangers suffocate in an alleyway while cheerful music blared at night.
"People started pushing from behind, like waves - there's nothing you can do," Nuhyil Ahammed told the BBC.
This 32-year-old man explained his experience to the BBC on Sunday (30/10/2022) afternoon. He said he was trapped in a crowd and there was nothing he could do to save himself let alone anyone else.
Sad video footage of the event has gone viral on social media. Ahammed himself shared his traumatic experience on Instagram.
The footage shows crowds of people, mostly teenagers and in their 20s, crammed into a narrow alley that slopes so that they can't move.
They then started to be pushed in all directions. Some were dragged to the ground. The others couldn't breathe.
Details are still missing, but testimonies and social media footage show many people falling to the ground in the narrow lane, while others shoved each other into or out of it.
Government Responds to Itaewon
South Korean Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said officials did not anticipate such crowds in Itaewon's narrow streets.
"The estimated crowd size in Itaewon is not much different from previous years, so I understand that the number of personnel deployed is the same as before," he said.
He said many officers had been deployed elsewhere in the capital on Saturday evening.
"I don't know the exact number of police personnel deployed (to Itaewon) but a large number have been deployed in Gwanghwamun, where large crowds are expected to protest," he said in a statement.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has promised a thorough investigation into the tragedy. [DDHK News]
