The neon-lit nightlife in the Seoul district usually remains packed with revelers and tourists most weekends. However, one of the deadliest calamities to hit the nation has now occurred there. The Halloween stampede in Seoul left more than 150 dead. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol asked for safety precautions over unplanned big crowds during a meeting on Monday, as per his spokesman. The Interior and Safety Ministry of South Korea announced Sunday that 154 people had died due to Saturday’s crowd surge during a jam-packed Halloween festival in Seoul.
The ministry claimed it is making every effort to help the families of victims of the foreigners who died in the catastrophe, including facilitating their entrance into South Korea and assisting with burial preparations. Almost 26 foreign nationals perished in the catastrophe, according to the government.
What actually happened?
Before the mob turned murderous, eyewitnesses said that there was minimal to no crowd control. People were standing shoulder to shoulder, saying it took some time for folks to recognize something was wrong. The music blasting from the nearby clubs and pubs competed with people’s frantic shouts. The social media posts show people applying chest compression to other partygoers lying on the ground and awaiting medical attention.
Officials reported that there were no explosions or gas leaks on the spot. The reason for the accident is still being investigated. The countries with victims are the US, Iran, China, Srilanka, Thailand, Norway, Australia, Russia, France, Austria, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, and Uzbekistan. Ninety-seven women and 56 males were among the dead, and over 4,000 were reported missing.
Yoon declared that the government would perform safety checks not only for Halloween festivities but also for local festivals. The government will ensure they are performed neatly and securely to safeguard against such occurrences from occurring again.
