Hundreds of young people were crushed in an alley next to a hotel in the Itaewon neighborhood for reasons under investigation
The South Korean president declares official mourning for a tragedy that “should never have happened”
At least 153 people have died and approximately 80 have been injured, almost twenty of them in a massive human stampede that occurred during a Halloween party in the Itaewon neighborhood, in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, according to the latest balance published. this Sunday by the country’s Ministry of Public Security, which states that 22 of the deceased are foreigners.
The incident occurred at night, when a crowd gathered in a narrow alley about four meters wide, down a slope next to the Hamilton Hotel, in downtown Itaewon.
“At 10:46 p.m. on October 29, there was an accident due to overcrowding near the Hamilton Hotel,” the Central Office for Disasters and Security of the South Korean Ministry of the Interior announced in its first assessment, after the emergency services received the least 81 warning calls from the Hotel Hamilton area for respiratory difficulties since 11:30 p.m.
An eyewitness quoted by the official South Korean news agency, Yonhap, explained that people began to come out around 10:30 a.m. and ten minutes later “everyone suddenly began to fall and the people who remained below were crushed” . Other people present have described that people were stacked in “layers” of up to five and six levels.
The authorities have indicated that most of the deceased were young people around 20 years of age. There are three soldiers dead and four wounded — it is unknown if they were on duty — and at least twenty foreigners among the victims, whose nationalities have not been disclosed.
In total, 45 died in the first minutes of the tragedy and their bodies have been temporarily transferred to the Wonhyo gymnasium and later taken to the morgue of the Soonchunhyang University Hospital in Yongsan.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police has already opened an investigation and the Fire Department has activated a Level Three response at 11:50 p.m. and has sent personnel to the area, where a field hospital has already been installed with the support of the Seoul National University Hospital , Kyunghee University Hospital and Hanyang University Hospital.
At least 143 emergency vehicles including ambulances and fire trucks were sent to the scene along with 848 professional rescuers. According to the Korean agency Yonhap, these troops carried out the search work until 3:00 a.m.
The Firefighters teams have reported the “difficulty breathing” they have experienced upon arrival in the area, when they have proceeded to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers as soon as they moved the bodies to the main road. Local media have reported that friends and citizens have also made efforts to revive those affected, given the large number of victims.
The injured have been taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital, National Medical Center, Mokdong Ewha Women’s University Hospital, Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, Chungang University Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital and to Yeouido St. Mary’s Hospital. Soonchunhyang University Hospital has set up a dedicated mortuary for victims.
Local merchants interviewed by local Yonhap have explained that the crowd began to gather in the area during the day and by nightfall tens of thousands of people filled the narrow streets of Itaewon.
The Police had previously reported that they expected a large concentration of some 100,000 people at the Halloween party where the tragedy occurred. The agents have proceeded to close all the bars and restaurants near the scene of the accident from 1:00 a.m.
THE PRESIDENT DECLARES OFFICIAL MOURNING
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has announced a period of official mourning until November 5 and has ordered that the flags fly at half-staff “until the accident is under control”, in an intervention on the YTN television channel.
“It’s horrible, this tragedy should never have happened. (…) As president, my responsibility is the safety of citizens’ lives, so my heart is heavy and I fight to face this duel,” he said. .
In addition, the president has assured that the most important thing at this time is to determine the causes of the accident in order to prevent similar incidents. “We are going to thoroughly investigate the case and make fundamental improvements so that similar accidents do not take place in the future,” he said in his speech collected by the newspaper ‘Korean Times’.
As soon as the facts were known, Suk Yeol has called an emergency meeting of the President’s Crisis Management Center in Yongsan, Seoul. The mayor of Seoul, Oh Se Hoon, has also been informed and is returning from Europe after suspending a trip in which he was scheduled to visit four countries.
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY STANDS IN SOLIDARITY WITH SEOUL
United States President Joe Biden has conveyed his condolences on behalf of himself and his wife, Jill Biden, to all the families who have lost loved ones in Seoul.
“We mourn the Republic of Korea and send our best wishes for a speedy recovery to all those who have been injured. The alliance between our countries has never been more vital and the ties between our people are stronger than ever. United States supports the Republic of Korea during these difficult times,” reads the statement released by the White House.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michael, has also expressed his ‘shock’ at so many deaths during the Halloween celebrations. “My deepest condolences to all the families and friends of the victims of the terrible accident in South Korea,” he has written on his Twitter profile. Likewise, he wished that all the injured had a speedy recovery and stated that the European Union is with them in solidarity.
The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, have also spoken in the same vein, stating that she was shocked by the latest news from Seoul. “My thoughts are with the family and friends of those who have lost their lives and those who have been injured,” she wrote.
The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has expressed his condolences on the same social network. “The tragic events in Seoul have left us in ‘shock’. Our thoughts are with the many victims and their families. It is a sad day for South Korea and Germany stands by their side,” he said.
In the same vein, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, has conveyed the French country’s support for Seoul, a country for which he has stated that he has a “moving thought” tonight.
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