The Death Toll Of The South Korea "Crowd Crush" Rises To 154
Consisting mainly of young Halloween partiers in their late teens and 20's.
Over the past couple of days, the city of Seoul has been reeling from a horrific tragedy that occurred on October 29 over the Halloween weekend when thousands of partygoers began to form an enormous crowd at the city’s popular nightlife district Itaewon. There were so many people crammed into the tiny streets of Itaewon that somehow a “crowd crush” began to form where several people began panicking due to the intense confinement and inability to move because of the overcrowding.
Survivors of the crowd crush have shared details of the terrifying incident, with some saying that they were completely incapable of breathing and others even claiming that they passed out due to the confinement and lack of air.
As of today, the death toll has risen to a whopping 154 individuals, consisting of 98 women and 56 men, according to South Korea’s Interior and Safety Ministry. Several of those who died during the crowd crush included foreigners who were either studying abroad or vacationing in Seoul, as well as Seoul locals and South Korean citizens. Emergency officials struggled immensely to pull survivors from the piles of people either dead or fainted on top of each other. Survivors also lined up the narrow streets of Itaewon giving CPR to their friends and loved ones who had either unfortunately died or who were unconscious because of the crowd crush.
All throughout this week, relatives and friends have been frantically searching for their missing loved ones in local hospitals and gyms in hopes of identifying the dead or injured victims. South Korean president Yoon Suk-Yeol has declared the crowd crush as a national tragedy and issued the entire country to undergo one week of mourning.
Although the reason for the crowd crush remains ambiguous, it is safe to assume that the streets of Itaewon were extremely overcrowded (with a reported total of 100,000 people flocking to the popular nightlife area that night to celebrate Halloween) and caused a total lack of mobility and proper breathing for those trapped in the sea of partygoers. COVID-19 restrictions had just been lifted in Seoul, so investigators and officials believe the desperation to enjoy the nightlife and celebrate Halloween without any restrictions finally is what led to the overwhelming crowds that night. The death toll is expected to rise given that many individuals are currently in critical condition and it is unsure if they will make it through.
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