A 24-year-old South Korean actor and singer. A 20-year-old local girl who, after her father's death, dropped out of college and took two part-time jobs to help her mother make ends meet. Another young woman of 25 who gave her parents a birthday dinner before going out with her friends. A 23-year-old Australian trying to make a name for herself as a film producer. A 20-year-old American who had been in Seoul for two months studying international business.
South Korea is still in shock after the tragedy that took place on Saturday night in the Itaewon neighborhood, where at least 154 people, mostly women, lost their lives in a human crush in a steep alley that also left 149 injured, 33 of them gravity. Little by little, new details about the victims are becoming known, the vast majority of them in their twenties - also a dozen teenagers - wanting to enjoy their first Halloween night in good conditions after the break forced by the pandemic.
"He was a bright and pure person, we can't believe we will never see him again," they said from the 935 agency about Lee Ji Han, the deceased actor they represented. “Grace (Rached) lit up the room with her infectious smile. She always made others feel important and her kindness left a mark on the people she knew, ”said the family of the Australian student, one of the 26 foreigners who died at the scene.
Throughout the city, shocked citizens have come to place flowers and other offerings, pray and cry in front of the altars installed in honor of the victims. Their tears are mixed with disbelief that something like this has happened, and they openly criticize the inability of the authorities to prevent the catastrophe. "I'm devastated, they just wanted to have a good time. I can't believe this accident happened despite the signs that were there beforehand, nothing was done to prepare for that crowd," student Hwang Gyu Hyeon told AFP between sobs.
Along the same lines, an editorial in the local newspaper Korea JoongAng Daily noted that "the disaster could have been avoided if the police and firefighters had thoroughly prepared in advance for different scenarios." The text also urged citizens to stop sharing images and videos of the victims on social networks, and asked the authorities to find "effective solutions" to prevent similar calamities.
For years, except for the pandemic, it has been common for thousands of people to come to celebrate Halloween night in the Itaewon neighborhood, a well-known nightlife district near a gigantic American military base recently closed. Even so, the testimonies collected speak of up to 100,000 people gathered this Saturday in the area, which exceeded any forecast. “It was at least 10 times more crowded than usual,” said one of the witnesses, Park Jung-Hoon.
As the president, Yoon Suk Yeol, requested the day before, the Police are already investigating the causes of what happened. Groups of agents thoroughly analyze the images captured by the security cameras in the area of the event and the numerous graphic documents posted on social networks.
Meanwhile, others question witnesses and workers in the area and inspect the alley, just four meters wide and 45 long, to find out exactly how the events unfolded. "The government will thoroughly investigate the causes of the incident and do everything possible to make the necessary improvements to the systems to prevent something similar from happening again," Prime Minister Han Duck Soo reiterated on Monday.
In a statement, the Police indicated that they had deployed 137 agents in the area on Saturday night, more than the between 34 and 90 mobilized in previous years. However, local media pointed out that most of the troops were focused on monitoring drug trafficking or petty theft rather than controlling the masses.
For his part, the head of the Police Public Order Management Office admitted today that they had not predicted that the celebrations would gather so many people in the neighborhood. “A large number of people were expected to gather there. But we did not expect large-scale casualties due to this fact,” he told the Yonhap state agency. In addition, he added that he could not confirm if the rate at which people began to gather was higher than in previous years, saying that officers in the area "did not detect a sudden increase in the crowd."
As a result of what happened, numerous hotels, shopping centers, amusement parks and other businesses have suspended the events organized with the theme of Halloween. The day before, President Yoon announced a week of national mourning in the country, where flags are already flying at half-staff.
This month of October is being particularly dark in Asia, where tragedies continue to accumulate. In recent weeks, 131 people have died in a stampede on a soccer field in Indonesia; 36 Thais, the vast majority young children, were killed by a former police officer with a drug problem; and at least 134 people died yesterday in India after the collapse of a suspension bridge that has also left many missing.
