Alexandra Jeagy, edited by Yanis Darras
modified to
4:30 p.m., October 31, 2022
According to a latest report, nearly 154 people died in a crowd movement in Seoul this weekend, during the Halloween celebration. A few days after the tragedy, the president of the country promises a rigorous investigation to understand what really happened this Saturday evening in the streets of the capital.
People piled up on top of each other, lifeless bodies lying a little further down a boulevard and emergency services overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. In Seoul, South Korea, the weekend was particularly deadly. Nearly 154 people lost their lives in a crowd movement in the streets of the Korean capital according to a latest report, including a Frenchman. The disaster also injured dozens of people.
Authorities overwhelmed
It must be said that to celebrate Halloween, about 100,000 people were on Saturday evening in the festive district of the city, Itaewon. A disproportionate attendance compared to previous years. Around 10 p.m., a huge stampede formed near the Hamilton Hotel, located on an avenue and surrounded by steep alleys. “It sends shivers down my spine, seeing people on the ground like that getting resuscitated,” says a French influencer who was trapped in the crowd. “The situation is not under anyone’s control, including even the authorities. The Korean police did not expect this because there were very few police officers mobilized,” he explains.
The majority of the victims were in their twenties. Trapped in small alleys, the density and compression of people will have been fatal for many of them. “Around seven people per square meter, we reach densities which are starting to become very dangerous”, explains Mehdi Moussaïd, specialist in crowds.
A week of national mourning
“In general, the victims are counted in the dozens, but in very large gatherings, you can very quickly lose control. In Seoul, it’s still really a scenario that is very delicate because we are on a free urban environment. And in this context, it is frankly difficult for the organizers”, he admits. To shed light on this drama, the South Korean President, Yoon Seok-youl, promises a rigorous investigation. A week of national mourning has been declared across the country.