South Korea in mourning as they experience tragic deaths on the day of hallowing. A festival said to be filled with happiness ended in tragic when at least 153 were killed in crowd crush during the festivities.
On Saturday night, an estimated 100,000 people congregated in Itaewon as the lifting of social distance, mask requirements, and other anti-Covid measures made way for the first Halloween celebration in three years. Many of these attendees were dressed in costumes.
According to Choi Seong-beom, chief of the Yongsan fire station in Seoul, those killed or injured were primarily teenagers and adults in their 20s.
19 foreigners, whose nationalities were not immediately disclosed, were among the deceased, he claimedq19 of those who were hurt are in serious condition, therefore the death toll could go up even higher.
Emergency workers and pedestrians desperately performed CPR on people lying in the streets after the crush in the capital’s nightlife district of Itaewon on Saturday night.
The President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol has declared state of national mourning after datastrous surge in Itaewon nightlife quarter of South Korean capital as investigations goes on to make sense of such multiple deaths.
In his speech he said
“It was chaos’:how my Halloween night out in Itaewon went from fun to horror.
“As president, who is responsible for the people’s lives and safety, my heart is heavy and I struggle to cope with my grief,” Yoon said.
“The government will designate the period from today until the accident is brought under control as a period of national mourning and will place top priority on administrative affairs in recovery and follow-up measures.”
Many of the alleyways off the main thoroughfare in the area are narrow and sloped.
It was on one such sloped street, located near the Hamilton Hotel and little more than four metres wide, that so many were killed and injured.
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