156 die in Halloween crowd crush in Korea's Itaewon

Scores died Saturday in Itaewon in a horrific crowd crush during the first Halloween celebrations since most Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

A picture taken before a deadly crush occurred near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Saturday night when a large crowd visited the area for Halloween. [YONHAP]

Scores died Saturday in Itaewon in a horrific crowd crush during the first Halloween celebrations since most Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

The tragedy left Korea in shock and wondering how an evening of fun could turn fatal for so many so quickly, and how one of Seoul's most iconic locations could be left looking like war zone in a matter of minutes.

As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, 156 deaths and 151 injuries were confirmed by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters.

The tragedy was Korea’s deadliest disaster since the Sewol Ferry sinking in 2014, which took the lives of 304 people, mostly high school students.

Of the dead, 101 are female and 55 are male. Most were reported to be young women in their 20s.

Twenty-six foreigners from 14 countries died: five from Iran; four from China and Russia; two from the Japan and the United States; and one from Australia, Austria, France, Kazakhstan, Norway, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Halloween has become increasingly popular in Seoul over the last decade, with crowds flocking to clubs and bars in Itaewon — the setting Netflix drama "Itaewon Class" — which is known for its lively international nightlife district.

The Halloween celebrations were the first since most social distancing measures were lifted, including outdoor mask-wearing rules and business curfews. A crowd that may have been as large as 100,000 was in and around the storied nightlife spot for early Halloween revelry Saturday. Yongsan Police Precinct said that 200 officers were being assigned to patrol the area to prevent crimes such as illegal filming and drug use.

A 25-year-old woman who celebrated Halloween in Itaewon in 2017 said she came again this year with her friends, this time booking a room near the area a month early expecting many people to come after the social distancing measures were gone.

“When I arrived in Itaewon at around 6:30 p.m., the streets were already packed with people,” she told the Korea JoongAng Daily.

The disaster began sometime after 10 p.m., with the first calls for help received at 10:15 p.m. as people departing the area ran into people arriving, coming together with tragic consequences in tightly packed alleyways. A large number of people simultaneously entered a narrow road near an exit of the Itaewon subway station, about four meters (13.1 feet) wide.

A first-stage emergency response order was issued at 10:43 p.m., a second-stage order at 11:13 p.m. and a third-stage order at 11:50 p.m.

Most of the dead were found near the northwest corner of the Hamilton Hotel on narrow pedestrian streets in the main restaurant and bar area of Itaewon, which is in Yongsan District, central Seoul.

“When we left the bar at around 10:40 p.m. and headed towards the road, we could hear police officers blowing their whistles and trying to make a path in the middle of the crowd,” said Kevin Bustamante, a Brazilian software engineer in Korea, who was at the scene with two other friends. “When the path was open, in front of me there were people lying on the street getting CPR and some of the bodies being carried by hand. It was completely unexpected.”

When he and his friends finally got to Itaewon’s main road after being stuck in the crowd for about 30 minutes, they encountered at least 40 bodies lined up next to each other on the pavement, all covered with blue plastic blankets, he said.

“When we saw the bodies, my friends and I looked at each other in disbelief,” he said. “It was disturbing to imagine so many young people had died in such painful way not that far from us. If we had left the bar an hour earlier, we could have possibly been in the crowd too.”

Korean Youtuber Seon Yeo-jung, who was in the crush, uploaded posts on Instagram recalling the incident saying some people from behind encouraged people to push forward. She almost fainted.

Casualties were taken to Soonchunhyang University Hospital, the National Medical Center, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital and Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Dozens pronounced dead on the scene were first sent to a nearby gym so the hospitals could focus on the injured, but were rerouted to the hospitals.

First responders and firefighters early Sunday morning wait in a line to transfer the dead from a surge that killed at least 153 people in Itaewon. [NEWS1]

Traumatic asphyxia is likely the cause of death in most instances.

"If you watch the video clip, you can see a person lying on top of another,” Ro Young-sun, a professor of Emergency Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital who was in charge at the scene, said in a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo. “There is a possibility that people suffocated to death due to chest compression.”

The location was sloped, and people fell over each other on the steep pavement and toppled like dominoes.

Assuming that one person weighs about 50 kilograms (110 pounds), the total weight would be 5,000 kilograms if there are 100 of them, Lee Song-kyu, president of the Safety Professional Association of Korea, pointed out in an interview with SBS. The weakest and shortest "were crushed to death as the situation worsened.”

Professor Yeom Keong-woong of the department of Police Science at U1 University said in a YTN interview that “People couldn't move because there were more people in the alley than its capacity.

"In such a situation, one person falls, and others continue to fall one by one," he said.

The Hannam-dong Community Service Center started taking inquiries about missing person reports related to the Itaewon disaster. It is the only place that accepts on-site visits related to the incident. The Seoul Metropolitan Government received reports of 4,024 people missing as of 5 p.m. Sunday, including 92 received at the center.

"It's truly horrific," President Yoon Suk-yeol said in an address to the nation on Sunday morning.

He declared a period of national mourning from Sunday through Nov. 5. Public servants will be required to wear a ribbon and entertainment shows and festivals will be canceled. The president also ordered the lowering of flags.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo on Sunday declared Yongsan District, where Itaewon is located, a "special disaster area" and will provide subsidies to those who have been injured and to the families of people killed in the tragedy.

A joint memorial altar will be set at Seoul Plaza on Monday morning to allow people to pay tribute to the victims, with another mourning altar at Itaewon Plaza.

Yoon arrived at the scene of the Itaewon disaster at around 10 a.m. on Sunday. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon cut short his visit to Europe upon hearing the reports while in Rotterdam, and arrived in Korea at 4:30 p.m.

Leaders from around the world sent condolences following the tragic news.

"Jill and I send our deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in Seoul," U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement. "The United States stands with the Republic of Korea during this tragic time."

Others including Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also sent messages of condolences and support to Korea after the deadly stampede in Itaewon.

Individuals looking for those missing from Saturday night can call the community center at any of the following numbers: 02-2199-8660, 02-2199-8664 through 8678, 02-2199-5165 through 5168 and the 120 Dasan call center.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]