South Korea declared a period of national mourning Sunday as the death toll from a stampede at a Halloween party in Seoul climbed to 153.
President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed condolences to the victims, mostly teenagers and people in their 20s, and his wishes for a speedy recovery to the many injured in one of South Korea’s worst disasters and the world’s worst stampedes in decades.
“This is truly tragic,” he said in a statement. “A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened, took place in the heart of Seoul last night.”
A huge crowd celebrating in the popular Itaewon district surged into an alley Saturday night, emergency officials said.
Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, said 153 deaths had been confirmed, including 22 foreigners. He told a briefing at the scene that 82 people were injured, 19 of them seriously.
Families and friends desperately sought a word of loved ones at community centers that had become makeshift facilities for missing persons.
As of midday, the Interior Ministry said at least 90% of the victims had been identified, with delays affecting some foreign nationals and teenagers who did not yet have identification cards.
South Korean tech and mobile game firms including Kakao and NCSOFT pulled their Halloween promotions after the tragedy, while amusement park Everland canceled Halloween-themed events.
Many regional governments and organizations have canceled or reduced festivals and other celebrations.
It was the first Halloween event in Seoul in three years to be virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing. Many of the partygoers were wearing masks and Halloween costumes.
Early on Sunday costumes and personal belongings mingled with blood spots in the narrow street. Survivors huddled under emergency blankets amid throngs of emergency workers, police, and media.
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