SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Yonhap) — The crash that killed 149 people in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood is the deadliest since the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, which killed more than 300 people. The toll of the tragedy was confirmed at 6 a.m. the morning after the tragedy which unfolded around 10:15 p.m. this Saturday evening in a narrow alley near the Hamilton hotel in Itaewon following a crowd movement.
The authorities reported this morning a total of 225 casualties, including 149 dead, 19 seriously injured and 57 slightly injured. It is possible that the death toll will increase due to the seriously injured people. A few tens of thousands of people gathered as Halloween approached in this district known for its foreign population and its nightlife.
Fatal accidents in downtown Seoul are rare. The collapse of the Seongsu Bridge in October 1994 killed 32 people, and the collapse of the Sampoong Department Store in June 1996 killed 502 and injured 937. These two accidents had caused public anger due to the poor construction of the buildings and the negligence of the authorities.
The most recent tragedy was the sinking of the Sewol ferry, connecting Incheon and Jeju Island, which was carrying students from Danwon High School to Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, for a study trip on April 16, 2014. The sinking of the Sewol ferry killed 304 people, most of them high school students.
At present, the police and the competent authorities have launched an investigation to elucidate the cause of this stampede and will open an investigation into the security measures taken by businesses in the district. Rescuers are trying to identify the dead, who have been transferred to hospital morgues.
Tags: Stampede Itaewon catastrophic accident years
