South Korea responds to fatal Halloween crowd surge

Concerned relatives raced to hospitals in search of their loved ones Sunday as South Korea grieved the deaths of at least 153 people, mostly in their 20s and 30s. They got trapped after a huge Halloween party crowd surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul.

Tens of thousands of people were believed to have gathered Saturday night in Itaewon for festivities. Witnesses say the streets were so densely clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley near Hamilton Hotel, as the situation quickly developed into one of the country’s worst disasters in years.

“I still can’t believe what has happened,” said Kim Mi Sung, an official at a nonprofit organization that promotes tourism in Itaewon.

As of Sunday evening, officials put the death toll at 153 and the number of injured people at 133. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the death count could further rise as 37 of the injured people were in serious conditions.

Ken Fallas, a Costa Rican architect who went to Itaewon with expat friends, said the loud music made things more chaotic.

“When we just started to move forward, there was no way to go back,” Mr. Fallas said. “We didn’t hear anything because the music was really loud. Now, I think that was one of the main things that made this so complicated.”

Ninety-seven of the dead were women and 56 were men. More than 80% of the dead are in their 20s and 30s, but at least four were teenagers. 

Authorities said thousands of people have called or visited a nearby city office, reporting missing relatives and asking officials to confirm whether they were among those injured or dead after the crush.

Around 100 businesses in the Hamilton Hotel area have agreed to shut down their shops through Monday to reduce the number of partygoers who would come to the streets through Halloween day.

While Halloween isn’t a traditional holiday in South Korea – where children rarely go trick-or-treating – it’s still a major attraction for young adults, and costume parties at bars and clubs have become hugely popular in recent years.

Itaewon, near where the former headquarters of U.S. military forces in South Korea operated for decades before moving out of the capital in 2018, is an expat-friendly district known for its trendy bars, clubs, and restaurants. It’s the city’s marquee Halloween destination.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared a one-week national mourning period on Sunday and ordered flags at government buildings and public offices to fly at half-staff. During a televised speech, Mr. Yoon said supporting the families of the victims, including their funeral preparations, and the treatment of the injured would be a top priority for his government.

He also called for officials to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and review the safety of other large cultural and entertainment events to ensure they proceed safely.

“This is really devastating. The tragedy and disaster that need not have happened took place in the heart of Seoul amid Halloween [celebrations],” Mr. Yoon said during the speech. “I feel heavy hearted and cannot contain my sadness as a president responsible for the people’s lives and safety.”

After the speech, Mr. Yoon visited the Itaewon alley where the disaster occurred. Local TV footage showed Mr. Yoon inspecting the alley filled with trash and being briefed by emergency officials.

It was not immediately clear what led the crowd to surge into the narrow, downhill alley. One survivor said many people fell and toppled one another after they were pushed by others.

The survivor, surnamed Kim, said they were trapped for about an hour and a half before being rescued, as some people shouted for help and others were short of breath, according to the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper.

Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, said that bodies were being sent to hospitals or a gym, where bereaved family members could identify them.

World leaders offered condolences, including Pope Francis.

“We pray the Risen Lord also for those – especially young people – who died last night in Seoul, due to the tragic consequences of a sudden crush,” he said after his Sunday’s Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, inviting the crowd to pray for the victims.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, tweeted that reports of the disaster were “heartbreaking” and said Washington “stands ready to provide the Republic of Korea with any support it needs.”

Among the 20 foreigners who died are four from China; three from Russia; two from Iran; and one each from Vietnam, Austria, Norway, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, and the United States, the Interior Ministry said. It added the nationalities of the four other foreigners have been confirmed.

The last South Korean disaster this deadly also hit young people the hardest. In April 2014, 304 people, mostly high school students, died in a ferry sinking. The sinking exposed lax safety rules and regulatory failures. It was partially blamed on excessive and poorly fastened cargo and a crew poorly trained for emergency situations.

Saturday’s deaths will likely draw public scrutiny of what government officials have done to improve public safety standards since the ferry disaster.

This was the deadliest crushing disaster in South Korean history. In 2005, 11 people were killed and around 60 others were injured at a pop concert in the southern city of Sangju. In 1960, 31 people died after being crushed on the stairs of a train station as large crowds rushed to board a train during the Lunar New Year holidays.

It was also Asia’s second major crushing disaster in a month. On Oct. 1, police in Indonesia fired tear gas at a soccer match, causing a crush that killed 132 people as spectators attempted to flee.

More than 1,700 response personnel from across the country were deployed to the streets to help the wounded, including about 520 firefighters, 1,100 police officers and 70 government workers. The National Fire Agency separately said in a statement that officials were still trying to determine the exact number of emergency patients.

Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Giada Zampano in Rome, and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed to this report.