According to Taiwanese media reports, the Halloween stampede in Itaewon area of Seoul, South Korea late at night on the 29th caused 225 casualties and injuries. Witnesses described that the accident occurred in "instantly", and the people in the alley were "instantly pushed down by the pressure of the crowd." In addition, Korean video blogger Song Zanyang also shared two street scene pictures on Facebook, indicating that the serious casualties this time were caused by many downhill sections of Itaewon . The crowd fell collectively, and the people behind pushed forward again, which led to a tragedy.
Picture source Reuters
Stampered in Itaewon, South Korea has so far caused 149 deaths and 76 injuries, and a total of 225 casualties. Yonhap News Agency reported that as of 7 a.m. today, Seoul authorities have received reports of 270 missing people. It is not clear whether it is the injured and the missing persons outside the victims.
A man in his 20s who witnessed the accident, recalling that the accident happened in "moment", he said, "Suddenly we all fell." The report pointed out that the people in the narrow and sloped alleys of Itaewon were instantly pushed down by the pressure from the crowd from unknown places.
Another survivor said on Twitter that he fell and screamed like a domino as the crowd pushed from above the steep alley.
Another woman in her 20s said that a tragedy occurred when a person as short as her was caught in the crowd and could not breathe.
Another woman in her 30s surnamed Cui went to Itaewon with her husband last night for Halloween. They happened to go to the bathroom at the time of the incident, so they escaped the accident. . A woman surnamed Cui said that when the couple came back from the bathroom, they saw more than 50 people falling down on the road. "It's so miserable."
. Her husband was subsequently asked by police and police to rub the injured limbs, while the rescuers urgently performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
"The Washington Post " reported that witnesses described the chaos at the moment, and the masses tried to leave the scene after a night of carnival, but it was difficult to move among the crowd. "New York Times " pointed out that an eyewitness wrote on Twitter, "People keep squeezing over, and more and more people are being pushed down. People pressed down below are crying, and I just thought that I might be crushed to death, so I could only breathe through a gap and cry for help."
Local fire department officials said that 101 of the deceased were transferred to a nearby hospital morgue, and another 45 were taken to a gymnasium near Itaewon. Family members who were anxiously waiting for the news gathered on the street outside the gymnasium.
This stampede shocked the international situation, and British Prime Minister Sunak tweeted: "Tonight received terrible news from Seoul. In this painful moment, we are with the Korean people." US Secretary of State Blinken said: "The report from Seoul is heartbreaking. We hope that those who have lost their loved ones can recover as soon as possible. The United States is ready to provide South Korea with any support it needs at any time."
South Korean President Yoon Seo-yeol After the accident, he held two accident response meetings and ordered the adoption of countermeasures, including opening the lane for ambulances and other necessary traffic controls. South Korean Prime Minister Han Yu-soo, Interior Minister Lee Sang-min, Seoul Police Director Kim Kwang-ho and other officials attended the meeting via video.
In addition, Korean video blogger Song Zanyang also updated the latest progress of this unexpected on Facebook . He said that the Halloween event in Itaewon was originally a very large event. Seoul police and police began preparing a few days ago, but they didn't expect that there would be as many as 100,000 people.
He posted two street scene pictures to analyze the key to the seriousness of the accident, mainly because there are many slopes in South Korea, and itaewon. The crowd fell collectively on the downhill section, and the people behind pushed forward without knowing it, which led to a tragedy. He said that this concept is like falling on an escalator, the person in the front falls, and the person in the back cannot retreat and keeps stacking. (Editor: Fang Yanyan)
