In South Korea, parents are searching for children in hospital after Saturday’s tragic event in the capital Seoul, where 153 young people who took part in a Halloween celebration died. Most of those who died were young women, who were crushed to death when panic broke out in a narrow alley.
Yoon Yae-il was one of all the youngsters stuck in the traffic jam.
– I got scared and tried to move to the side, but it didn’t work. I was stuck there for two hours, she says.
An estimated 100,000 people had gathered in the popular entertainment district of Itaewon in Seoul for Halloween celebrations. It was the first major Halloween celebration after the pandemic and the first since all covid restrictions were lifted earlier this year.
The alley where the accident happened is about four meters wide, 50 meters long and sloping, connecting two popular main streets in the entertainment district of Seoul.
Many rumors are circulating about the reason why people gathered in the alley, but the police have not been able to confirm these. However, the fact that the police presence was cut back – many police officers were busy guarding a demonstration elsewhere in the city – is considered to have contributed to the high death toll.
In the clip above: Parents are still searching for their children after the disaster