At least 154 people, primarily in their twenties and celebrating Halloween were killed in a crowd crush on a Seoul street. It’s South Korea’s biggest disaster in years.
Authorities have warned that the death toll could increase because 133 people were injured, with some in serious condition.
They were stuck for over an hour, while victims fell “like dominoes”, according to the survivors.
Here’s what you need to know about what had happened:
Where did it take place?
About 100,000 people flocked to Itaewon, a neighborhood area popular with foreigners and home to many trendy restaurants and nightclubs.
The swarming began in the steep, narrow alleyways outside the Hamilton Hotel, at around 10:20 pm. It’s unclear what caused the gathering to surge, but the neighboring narrow street served as a vice.
Since COVID-19 restrictions were lifted there, people had swarmed to the area for the largest outdoor Halloween celebration in the country.
Locations where individuals were trapped
How did some individuals survive from this crowd crush?
In videos shared online, hundreds of people lay immobile while rescue workers and police attempted to rescue them. Yonhap news agency reported that one man who made it out of the crowd rush said he was able to sneak into a bar since the door was open in the alley.
A number of people, according to a witness, collapsed and fell on top of another “like dominoes” after being pushed.
Moreover, one survivor told the Seoul-based Hankyoreh newspaper that they were stuck for approximately an hour and a half before being rescued, during which time they heard individuals calling out “help me!” and others complaining of shortness of breath.
As hundreds of people lay unconscious in the streets after the crush, emergency workers and bystanders frantically gave CPR.
At the scene, nine of them were pronounced dead. About 66% of the deaths were females.
What factors contribute to the lethality of crowd crushes?
South Korean authorities have stated that they have yet to determine the cause for the recent incident.
Up until this point, the deadliest crushing tragedy in South Korean history had occurred at a pop concert in 2005, where 11 people died and around 60 people injured.
Since there will be a lot of people in a small area, fatal crowd crushes most often occur at concerts and sporting events.
What occurs then? Crowds in confined areas generate invisible forces that make breathing impossible.
People die while standing, and those that fall are unable to breathe because of the pressure exerted by the people on top of them.
What to do to survive a crowd crush?
Want to know how to survive a crowd crush? Click here to read more.
Source: ABC News