Published: Less than 20 min ago
Edward Chun, 27, lives about a hundred meters from the alley of death in Itaewon.
Now he is looking for his friend who was at the Halloween celebration on Saturday.
– He may have lost his phone in the chaos. I hope that is what has happened, he says to Aftonbladet.
It has been a day since the horrific scenes unfolded in Itaewon in the South Korean capital.
The festive Halloween celebration in the entertainment district turned into a terrible tragedy when people were crowded into an alley and at least 154 people were crushed to death.
Today, large barriers sit outside what has become the alley of death.
Edward Chun, 27, lives a few hundred meters away. He was out with his dog on Saturday night and noticed a large rescue operation with 25 ambulances, but could not see what had happened.
– I went out again and then there were maybe 150 ambulances at the scene. I could see that the streets were packed, nobody could get in or out, he tells Aftonbladet’s reporter Victor Lindbom on the spot.
Dark and quiet in the streets
Many Seoul residents are looking for their relatives today, during Sunday several thousand had been reported missing. Edward Chun has been trying to get hold of a friend who was at the Halloween celebration on Saturday.
– He may have lost his phone in the chaos. I hope that is what has happened.
He looks down at the ground.
– I am deeply sorry. This is just so tragic.
Itaewon is Seoul’s vibrant entertainment district. Edward Chun describes it as a hip area with a great mix of young South Koreans, Westerners and exchange students.
Today, the party streets resemble a ghost town. It is dark, dimmed and almost empty of people.
Witnesses who were there on Saturday night describe how the sloping alley was packed with people from wall to wall – with more people pushing to get inside.
Couldn’t save the friend
One of those in the crowd when the panic spread was Australian Nathan Taverniti, who had come to the entertainment district to celebrate Halloween with his 23-year-old girlfriend, also from Australia.
He told Yonhap news agency that he managed to climb out of the crowd and get out. But not his girlfriend.
– I can’t believe it’s true. I was right where it happened. All I could see was a wall of people. It was impossible to save her, he says, wiping tears from his cheeks.
Nathan tried to help other people out and shouted for help. He saw his friend being carried away on a stretcher. Since then, he has no idea where she is.
– I don’t know where she is, next week is her birthday.
Halloween cancelled
At the Itaewon subway station, the police have put up notes: “Halloween canceled (halloween is canceled reds note)”. Similar notes sit on the bars. They must remain closed during the seven-day mourning period announced by the president in the country.
Some women who work at a bar, which is closed to visitors for the next week, are standing outside smoking. They saw the commotion from the bar and people lying on the ground but did not understand what had happened.
– At first we thought they were full. It feels strange and depressing. All young people…, says one of the women.
Flowers have been laid on the ground during the day. A woman stands and looks into the narrow, sloping alley. Tears fall down the face.
– I live here and walk my dogs here every evening. No words can describe what I feel today, she says while tears run down her face.
She says that her daughter is often out having fun with her friends here. What happened is unimaginable, she says.
– Itaewon has always been safe. I love this area.
She continues:
– So many lives, so many families are affected. I don’t know if we will be able to move on, she says.
Don’t feel angry: It just happened
Edward Chun believes that the disaster will leave a mark on South Korean society for a long time to come.
– It is the biggest party weekend of the whole year, bigger than New Year’s and all other holidays. Halloween will for many years to come be associated with this disaster. It will have a negative connotation in our country.
Critical voices have been raised about security during the celebration. One wonders why authorities were not better prepared for the first Halloween celebration after the covid restrictions were lifted.
But Edward Chun is not angry with anyone today.
– What makes this accident so strange and unimaginable is that it doesn’t seem to have been anyone’s fault. It just happened.
Earlier in the evening he came here with a flower. But the mourning altar to be built for the dead here is not ready.
– I didn’t know where to put it, so I just put it on the ground.