A survivor of the stampede that killed 154 Halloween revellers in Seoul has recalled the horror of seeing 40 bodies scattered around her after escaping the crush.
Authorities are being blamed for poor crowd control after 100,000 people – mostly in their teens and 20s dressed in Halloween costumes on the first night out without Covid curbs in three years – poured into streets in the popular Itaewon nightlife district.
Police said today they had deployed 137 officers at the event, significantly more than previous years. But witnesses said they were focused on tackling drug use rather than crowd control in the small, winding streets.
Among the dead was 24-year-old actor and singer Lee Ji Han, who appeared on reality TV show Produce 101 to create a K-pop band.
Mink and Federica, students from the Netherlands and Italy, joined the celebrations on Saturday night at the moment partygoers were collapsing and receiving CPR.
Mink told the BBC: ‘At the end of the alley there were 30, 40 bodies around me.
‘Everybody had been having fun, smiling, looking crazy, looking great. It just wasn’t something you could imagine would happen.’
Police officers examine the scene two days after a deadly stampede occurred in the Itaewon district of Seoul
Mourners pay tribute in front of a joint memorial altar for victims of the deadly Halloween crowd surge
Today, mourners have flocked to memorials honouring the 154 dead, and were seen weeping, praying and placing flowers at the official altar
Authorities are facing blame for poor crowd control after 100,000 people poured into Itaewon’s streets
Among the dead was 24-year-old actor and singer Lee Ji Han (pictured) who appeared on reality TV show Produce 101 to create a K-pop band
Federica added: ‘Seoul is famous for policemen being everywhere, and you always feel safe. It could have been better managed.’
Today, mourners went to memorials to the 154 dead and were seen weeping, praying and placing flowers at an official altar set up for the victims – who were mostly young women.
‘I am devastated by what happened, they were just trying to have a good time,’ 19-year-old student Hwang Gyu-hyeon told AFP, weeping and struggling to speak clearly.
‘I pray for the victims. I can’t believe this accident happened despite the signs that were clear beforehand. Nothing was done to prepare for this crowd,’ she said.
Song Jung-hee, 69, said she kept thinking about how ‘excited and spirited’ the young victims must have been, eager to enjoy a night out without Covid restrictions for the first time in three years.
Revellers were able to party without enforced mask wearing or group limits.
Police said at a briefing today they had deployed 137 officers to the event, significantly more than previous years
The victims were mostly in their teens and 20s and wearing Halloween costumes to celebrate the first night out without Covid restrictions in three years
A Buddhist nun prays in tribute to those who were killed, at a makeshift memorial outside a subway station
Officers guard the site of the deadly stampede in Itaewon, Seoul, as the country’s president, Yoon Suk-Yeol vowed a thorough investigation into what is one of the country’s worst disasters
‘If only there had been more police officers to keep order, this would not have happened,’ she told AFP.
Ji Han’s agency paid tribute to him today.
935 Entertainment said in a statement: ‘It’s true that Lee Ji Han passed away due to the accident in Itaewon on October 29.
‘We also hoped that it wasn’t true, and we were very shocked to hear the news. The family is suffering immense grief right now, so we are being very cautious. May he rest in peace.’
They later added: ‘Please send a warm farewell to [Lee], who left us too soon. We will also remember Lee, who shone beautifully with his passion for acting.’
Ji Han rose to fame on the second season of Produce 101, in which 101 contestants compete for a spot in a K-pop band.
He later appeared on the popular drama show Today was another Nam Hyan Day in 2019.
Dozens of mourners gathered at a makeshift memorial outside a subway station in Itaewon. Many wiped away tears as they placed white chrysanthemum and bottles of soju on the altar.
One sign at the memorial said: ‘At an age when you all were all about to blossom like flowers… My heart is broken. I pray all the souls will rest in peace in heaven.’
Calls for accountability were growing on Monday in the press and online, as potential lapses of crowd control and policing emerged.
‘This was a disaster that could have been controlled or prevented,’ Lee Young-ju, a professor from the Department of Fire and Disaster at the University of Seoul, told broadcaster YTN.
Investigators inspect the scene of a stampede that happened during Halloween festivities in Seoul
Calls for accountability were growing on Monday in the press and online, as potential lapses of crowd control and policing emerged
Left: The alleyway is seen early on Sunday morning. It remained cordoned off as police continued their investigations into the tragedy. Right: The same alleyway is seen shortly before the crush. Hundreds of people are shown packed in
Emergency workers urgently tried to extricate those most in need of medical assistance from the crowd
‘But this was not taken care of, with no one taking the responsibility in the first place.’
Online, claims also spread that police this year were not actively managing the crowd, which allowed too many people to congregate around the subway station and in the alleyway at the epicentre of the disaster.
‘I’ve lived in Itaewon for 10 years and experienced Halloween every year but yesterday was by no means particularly crowded compared to previous years,’ Twitter user @isakchoi312 wrote.
‘Ultimately, I think the cause of the disaster was crowd control.’
On Sunday, the government had defended the policing plan.
‘(The crush) was not a problem that could be solved by deploying police or firefighters in advance,’ Interior Minister Lee Sang-min told a briefing.
South Korea is typically strong on crowd control, with the country’s regular protest rallies often so heavily policed that officers can outnumber participants.
Revelers dressed in Halloween costumes are seen leaving the scene after a crush killed at least 154 people in Seoul
Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (centre) inspects the scene of the deadly Halloween stampede
Protest organisers must by law report plans to authorities in advance, but there were no such requirements for the young people flocking to the Itaewon Halloween event.
Tens of thousands of partygoers were packed into the downhill alleyway that was no more than 10 feet wide.
Witnesses described scenes of chaos as people pushed and shoved to get through, with no police in sight to guide or control the crowd.
Others described being trapped in a narrow, sloping alleyway, and scrambling to get out of the suffocating crowd as people piled on top of one another.
Most of the 154 dead, including 26 foreigners, had been identified on Sunday, with the education ministry confirming on Monday that at least six young teenagers were among the victims.
But the toll could rise further with at least 33 people in critical condition, officials said.
The country started a week of national mourning, with entertainment events and concerts cancelled and flags nationwide flying at half-mast.
