South Korean President Yoon Seok-youl decreed, on Sunday, October 30, during an address to the nation, a national mourning with immediate effect in tribute to the victims of the tragic Halloween stampede in the Itaewon district of Seoul. According to the latest report given in the early morning of the same day, the tragedy left at least 151 dead, including 19 foreigners, and dozens injured. Two hundred and seventy calls to report disappearances had been recorded by the city authorities.
In his address, Mr. Yoon lamented an event “tragic” who “should never have happened” : “My heart is heavy and I struggle to overcome my grief. » He promised to “Do everything to prevent this from happening again”.
“This is an unprecedented tragedy. We need to establish precisely the cause of the accident”, People’s Power Party leader Chung Jin-suk wrote on Facebook. Opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung said “shocked and devastated. We must focus on the rapid identification of victims and support for bereaved families, as well as the recovery of those injured.” Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has cut short his tour that began on October 21 in Europe.
“Most of the victims are in their twenties”
The first Halloween festivities since 2019 and the Covid-19 pandemic had attracted nearly 100,000 people to Itaewon on Saturday – this festive district in the center of the South Korean capital, which developed thanks to the proximity of he now closed American base is very popular with foreigners. They all flocked to the narrow, steep streets behind the Hamilton Hotel, the famous entry point to the neighborhood. This is where the toll is heaviest.
According to the chronology established by the firefighters, the first calls for help were made at 10:24 p.m. Four emergency vehicles were dispatched to the scene three minutes later. Then the alerts followed. At 11:50 p.m., the emergency services of Incheon, a city west of Seoul, and Gyeonggi, a province neighboring the capital, were called in and intervened. Also, 848 rescuers, including 346 firefighters, were mobilized. Health and Welfare Minister Cho Kyoo-hong arrived at the scene at 1:40 a.m. on Sunday.
The toll quickly increased, from around fifty people in cardiac arrest at 2 a.m. to 151 dead at 7 a.m. “Most of the victims are in their twenties”explained Choi Seong-beom, fire chief of the district of Yongsan, on which Itaewon depends and where the South Korean presidency is located.
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