At least 153 people die in a crowd in Seoul. Most of the victims are young and female. More deaths could follow. The tragedy may have been triggered by a huge post-pandemic party mood, a rumor and slippery waste.
In the Halloween tragedy in the South Korean capital Seoul, according to the rescue workers, mostly women died. “Most of the dead and injured are between 18 and 30 years old,” said the fire department. In addition, with almost 100 dead women, there are significantly more female victims than male. The rescue workers suspect that this is due to the comparatively fragile physique of many women.
According to the latest information, at least 153 people died in the crowds on Sunday night (local time). At least 80 other visitors were injured, more than a dozen of them seriously. 22 foreigners are among the dead. They come from China, Iran, Russia, the USA, France, Australia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, Norway, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Austria.
The crowds took place in the Itaewon district, which is known for its lively nightlife. Presumably 100,000 mostly young people are said to have stayed in the narrow streets filled with bars and clubs at the time of the accident. After the Halloween festival had been canceled in the past two years due to the corona pandemic, the rush is said to have been particularly large this time. “Itaewon is extremely crowded every year but this year was just crazy,” wrote one woman on her Instagram account.
Many people in South Korea still do not know whether their loved ones are also among the victims. As CNN reports, the responsible authorities have received at least 3,580 missing person reports. They had previously warned that the death toll could continue to rise.
Eyewitnesses paint a horrible picture of the events. “There were so many people being pushed around and I got trapped in the crowd and couldn’t get out at first either,” said 30-year-old Jeon Ga-eul. He had the feeling that sooner or later an accident would happen.
Accordingly, the deadly crowd began around 10:20 p.m. local time. According to local media reports, it may have been triggered by the rumor that a prominent YouTuber was also on his way to a club in the popular nightlife district. It is said that this attracted additional people. There was also slippery rubbish on the floor, on which some visitors to the celebrations slipped. As a result, they fell and others ran over them.
“People were squeezed so tightly in the narrow alley that rescue workers couldn’t pull them out,” a US soldier stationed in South Korea who also attended the festival told CNA. Accordingly, he and two comrades were able to save themselves just in time on an increased lead. “People have piled up,” he reflects his perception. “In the meantime it looked like a shift of 15 people.”