THE DEADLY HALLOWEEN STAMPEDE DISASTER IN SEOUL

What we know so far

Seoul, South Korea - Most weekends, the narrow alleys of Itaewon, the neon-lit nightlife district in
South Korea’s capital Seoul, are busy with partygoers and tourists. Now it’s the site of one of the
country’s worst disasters.

On Saturday night, tens of thousands of people flooded into the area in central Seoul to celebrate
Halloween – but panic erupted as the crowds swelled, with some witnesses saying it became hard to
breathe and impossible to move.

Through Sunday, the number of dead climbed to 154, with dozens more injured. Authorities have now
launched an urgent investigation to find out how what was supposed to be a night of celebration went
so horribly wrong, as families across the country mourn and search for missing loved ones.

Why were the crowds so big?

Itaewon has long been a popular place to celebrate Halloween, especially as the holiday became more
popular in Asia in recent years. But for the past two years, celebrations were canceled by pandemic
restrictions – COVID19. Saturday night marked the first Halloween since the country lifted these
restrictions – lending it particular significance for many eager participants in Seoul, as well as
international visitors including foreign residents and tourists.

What happened?

One eyewitness said it took some time for people to realize something was wrong, with people’s
panicked screams competing with music blaring from the surrounding clubs and bars.

After the first emergency calls came in around 10:24 p.m., authorities rushed to the scene – but the
sheer volume of people made it difficult to reach those who needed help.

Video posted to social media showed people performing compressions on other partygoers lying on the
ground as they waited for medical assistance.

The thousands of people in Halloween costumes contributed to the widespread sense of confusion and
chaos. One witness described seeing a police officer shouting during the disaster – but some revelers
mistook him for another partygoer. (clip, cắt tới 20s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hteL_OFaj6Y)

Why did the victims die?

Some sources in Korea: At that time, everyone was still jostling little by little, but someone shouted
"There's a celebrity!" causing the crowd to stop to observe, being pushed by the flow of people. When
several people fall, it leads to a chain reaction like a domino effect.

One witness, about 20 years old, told Yonhap news agency: "When the people in front fell, the people in
the back were crushed."

They couldn't breathe and were trampled to death

Who were the victims?

More than 150 people were killed. The victims were young, mostly in their teens and early 20s,
authorities said. Among the 150 dead were at least 26 foreign nationals, one of them is Vietnamese.

Lessons from the Itaewon tragedy

“Overcrowding, unmanaged crowds and wide paths filtering into narrow paths are a recipe for disaster,”
“People don’t die because they panic. They panic because they are dying.”crowd behaviour expert at
the University of Greenwich, Prof Edwin Galea explains.

So:

- We need to organize events and festivals like this professionally and with the participation of
many agencies, units, departments or organizations.
- Don't let joy overwhelm your safety, don't let panic kill you. Be calm and alert in any case. And
we also need to equip ourselves with crowd survival skills to not only help ourselves, but also
help others.

Hình: