South Korea is bolstering its monitoring efforts at crowded subway stations following a deadly Halloween crush that killed more than 150 people in Seoul, officials said yesterday.
The annual festivities in the popular nightlife area of Itaewon turned deadly on Saturday night last week after tens of thousands of young revellers crowded into narrow streets and alleyways. It was the first Halloween event in three years virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions.
“Similar high-risk situations could be created at subway rush hour,” South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, urging police to properly respond to prevent accidents due to overcrowding.
Photo: REUTERS
Starting yesterday, police are being deployed to subway stations in the capital to join metro officials in crowd control activities, Han said.
Crowd control at the site of the disaster was “inadequate,” South Korean National Police Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun said on Tuesday, adding that police had received multiple reports warning of possible accidents on the night of the surge.
Proper crowd and traffic control by authorities could have prevented or reduced the surge of Halloween partygoers in alleys, experts said.
With a week of national mourning ending today, a civic group that has been holding weekly rallies against the administration of South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol plans to stage a candlelight vigil tonight to mourn the victims, the organizer said.
The disaster killed 156 people and injured 187, leaving 33 in serious condition. At least 26 citizens from 14 countries outside of South Korea were among the dead.
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