This is how the disaster happened in Seoul: People pushed from two sides
This is what we know about the tragedy
Of:
Anna Sjogren
Published: Less than 2 hours ago
Updated: Less than 1 hour ago
NEWS
The Halloween celebration in Seoul turned into a terrible tragedy with over 150 dead.
According to witnesses, the narrow, sloping alley was filled from wall to wall with people trying to get in from two directions.
This is what we know about what happened.
Seoul
Metropolitan Government
1.Many of the victims were trapped in the narrow, hilly alley next to
the Hamilton Hotel.
2.Several victims were found here.
3.Here, several victims were found on the street.
4.Here, several victims were found on the street.
5.Subway rise where people continued to pour into the area.
On Saturday, people begin to gather in the entertainment district of
Itaewon in the South Korean capital. Party-hungry Seoulites stream from
the subway station to celebrate the first big Halloween celebration
since the covid restrictions were lifted.
Many are young and dressed up to celebrate Halloween.
According to the police, over 100,000 have gathered in the area: in
bars, restaurants and out on the streets. Already at eight o'clock it is
packed in the narrow alleys of the entertainment district.
- I have never seen such crowds in my life before, says Ulas Cetinkaya,
who runs a kebab restaurant in the area, to the NY Times.
Lots of people gather in the Itaewon entertainment district, many
dressed up to celebrate Halloween. Photo: LINDA @DABAKLUSA / Reuters
The chaos starts in the alley
According to local media reports, the chaos breaks out in a narrow,
sloping alley to one side of the Hamilton Hotel.
It is said to occur when people try to get to a bar where a celebrity is
rumored to have been spotted.
People head towards the bar and it gets more and more crowded in the
alley as people press in from two sides. According to witnesses, the
alley is filled from wall to wall as people continue to make their way
there.
"Incited each other"
Seon Yeo-jeong, a South Korean YouTuber, says people were heckling each
other in the crowd. “Come on, press! We are stronger! I will win!”
Witnesses describe how the crowd begins to swing back and forth and that
people end up falling over each other. According to Reuters, some are
trying to climb onto house facades to escape the increased pressure.
"People kept pushing down a sloping alley and people started screaming
and falling like dominoes," writes a witness according to the Yonhap
news agency.
The congestion in the district before the chaos broke out. Photo:
YONHAP/Reuters
First alarm
At 10:30 p.m. local time, the first alarm comes to the authorities:
people are being buried in the crowds. Films from the scene of the
accident show rescue workers struggling to free people stuck in the
alley.
At the same time, people continue to flock to the entertainment
district. Authorities send out a text message to residents urging
everyone to leave the area.
Emergency personnel on site on Itaewon street, outside the hotel.
At the
top left of the picture you can see the subway entrance where people
continue to come to the area. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP
According to witnesses, the congestion makes it difficult for emergency
personnel to reach the victims. At the same time, the music pumps out
from the nightclubs.
- People must be told how bad it was and how little help was available.
No one paid attention to what happened, an Australian man whose
23-year-old friend was injured and is now missing told Yonhap.
People are treated for cardiac arrest and other injuries. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP
Hundreds of rescue workers, firefighters and police are working at the
scene. Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP / TT
3,580
are reported missing
According to early reports, around 50 people are being treated for
cardiac arrest. Others are bleeding from the head or have suffered from a
lack of oxygen, says a nurse who takes care of the injured.
But the dead and injured will be many more.
During Sunday morning, the streets in the entertainment district are
empty, the police have closed the streets to traffic.
Authorities have set up a line where people can call to report their
missing relatives. During Sunday, 3,580 people were reported missing.
Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP / TT
The
death toll on Sunday morning is up to 153 people and 82 people are
injured. 10 people who lack identity documents have not yet been
identified. The majority of the dead are women. Most of the victims are
young people in their 20s, the youngest 16.
A
man who lost his daughter in the disaster criticizes the authorities.
He believes that it was known that extremely many people would gather in
the area during the evening.
"I don't think there was any preparation for this, which led to a
disaster," he told Reuters.
The hilly alley beside the Hamilton Hotel the day after the tragedy.
Photo: Lee Jin-man / AP
Memorials
will be set up in central Seoul and in Itaewon, and the president has
declared a national period of mourning until November 5.
The entire district of Yongsan has been declared a disaster area.
-
This is really tragic. A tragedy and disaster that should not have
happened took place in the heart of Seoul last night, Yoon Suk-yeol said
in a statement.
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