Official period of mourning begins in South Korea as authorities look to identify the victims from stampede
South Koreans are demanding answers after more than 150 people were crushed to death in a stampede during Halloween festivities in Seoul, one of the country’s worst peacetime disasters.
By 10 p.m., many of the streets around the Hamilton Hotel in central Itaewon had reached a virtual standstill, and people could be heard yelling in frustration over the thumping music as they tried to get through.ALBERT RETIEF/AFP/Getty Images The majority of the dead, 97 of 153, were young women. One female survivor, surnamed Park, told the Yonhap news agency “a short person like me could not even breathe,” the pressure of the crowd was so great.
Those killed in Saturday night’s disaster included people from China, Iran, Russia, the United States, Australia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Austria, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Norway, authorities said. For many South Koreans, Saturday’s disaster brought to mind the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which left almost 300 people dead. Then too, many of those killed were teenagers, and questions were raised over safety regulations and the government’s response.