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It was the first Halloween celebration in Seoul since the outbreak of the corona pandemic - it ended in disaster: more than 150 people died in a crowd.
Park Ju-Young, Eyewitness
“We arrived around 10:00 pm and saw a scene straight out of a movie.
In front of the hotel over there it looked like wartime.
But it was the reality.
People were being revived, others were running back and forth, it was a mess.
It was completely out of control.”
Thousands of mostly young people gathered on Saturday night in Itaewon - a neighborhood with narrow streets.
Amateur videos show how crowded it was.
The deadly crush broke out around 10 p.m.
Moon Ju-Young, Eyewitness
“I don't think the police were well prepared.
There were way too many people.
I know the police and emergency services work hard, but I don't think they were well prepared."
A community center – family members look for their friends or relatives here.
At least 19 foreigners are said to be among the dead.
Australian Nathan Taverniti lives in Seoul.
One of his friends died in the crush.
Nathan Taverniti, Eyewitness
“There was a T-junction.
There were already so many people there.
There were so many people.
I turned around and called out to the people to stop coming my way.
People die here.
I knew then how bad it was.”
President Yoon Suk-Yeol visited the scene of the incident on Sunday morning.
In a television speech, he had previously announced a thorough investigation.
Yoon Suk-Yeol, President of South Korea
»A tragedy, a disaster happened in the heart of Seoul that should not have happened.«
The accident caused dismay around the world – US President Biden and Chancellor Scholz, among others, expressed their condolences to the South Koreans.
