Itaewon Tragedy: How a Night that Began in Festivities Ended in Disaster

On October 29, as Halloween drew closer, tens of thousands of people flocked the Itaewon in Seoul to join in the annual festivities in the area, unknowing to more than 150 individuals, it will be their last celebration as a deadly stampede in the nightlife district also looms closer.

In the first unrestricted Halloween festivities South Koreans will experience since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 100,000 people decided to join in the fun, this led to the small number of police in the area to encounter challenges in controlling the crowd.

A tragedy waiting to happen, first calls for help

The epicenter of the deadly stampede was an alleyway near the Hamilton hotel, which according to Korean news agency Yonhap, is a 40-meter downhill path, linking a busy nightlife district with the main street.

Some individuals already saw a tragedy waiting to happen, as the National Police Agency said that the first call for emergency rescue was made four hours before the deadly stampede.

Moreover, a live streamer went to the police station just a couple of meters away from the epicenter just short of an hour before the tragedy, warning the police of the possible dangers of having such a dense crowd packed in such a narrow alleyway less than four meters wide.

The National Police Agency said that a total of 11 witnesses made emergency calls throughout the night.

Tragedy strikes

Between 10:15-10:22 PM Korean Standard Time, multiple reports of a “crush accident” were received by the Yongsan Fire Station.

The tragedy has begun.

Reports say that emergency officials received at least 81 calls, reporting difficulty breathing as people in the alleyway beside Hamilton hotel began falling over, according to witness reports, piling on top of each other as the crowd behind them were suddenly compelled to move forward due to the stumbling people in the epicenter.

The Yongsan Fire Station sent the initial first responders between 10:15 and 10:27 pm, with authorities declaring a “first-stage emergency response order” soon after.

Emergency responders reached the scene and stumbled upon numerous individuals laying on the streets and started to perform (Cardiopulmonary resuscitation) CPR on victims, but were quickly overwhelmed by the number of victims.

The first responders pleaded for the assistance of members of the public in the area, where multiple social media footages show civilians doing CPR on victims.

A second-stage order was issued at 11:13 p.m, authorities then declared a third-stage order at 11:50 p.m.

Aftermath

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol on Sunday declared a period of national mourning that will run through November 5 following the deadly tragedy.

Moreover, South Korean prime minister Han Duck-soo promised that there will be a thorough investigation on the stampede, adding that authorities are looking into the possibility of any individual may have instigated the deadly crush.

Meanwhile, a number of South Korean officials apologized for the tragedy, including National Police Agency chief Yoon Hee-keun, who conceded that the police response that led to the stampede was “inadequate.”

Yoon added that he feels a “heavy responsibility” for what happened.

Moreover, he also said that police response to the calls for help were “insufficient.”

There are also growing calls for accountability online as South Korea continues to seek answers on why the tragedy happened. (GFB)