Flowers and notes of condolences are placed in memory of the victims of the crowd crush during Halloween celebrations at Itaewon Station in Seoul.

On October 29th, a massive crowd crush occurred in the Itaewon district of Seoul, as more than 100,000 people had gathered for Halloween for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions were lifted. over 156 people were killed, and another 197 were injured, with the majority of victims being young adults. The incident is the deadliest disaster since the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014 and the deadliest crowd crush in the country.

The Itaewon district is well known for its nightlife location which include bars, clubs, and restaurants. There were several emergency calls made to the police before the devastating crush, with the first one being made at 6:00 pm. The huge crowds began to form between several thin roads with many shops, which led to a crush happening in the narrow alleyway behind the nearby Hamilton Hotel.

Most of the victims were in their 20s, with two-thirds female. Four in their teens, 96 in their twenties, 32 in their thirties, 9 in their forties, and 13 unidentified individuals were among the victims of the disaster. Out of the 156 victims, 26 were foreigners. Funerals were held for 17 of the foreign victims as of Sunday, and services for 6 more were conducted later that week. All of them have been financially compensated by the South Korean government.

Experts said that the aftermath of the tragedy could have been avoidable if officials in the area had prepared for the surge of people, by taking necessary measures, including blocking off narrow paths and banning cars from certain streets. They said that officials should have predicted large numbers in attendance for the Halloween celebrations.

Several others criticized the lack of police in the area during the disaster. It was stated that there were very few present and most of whom had not been trained for crowd control, compared to other large events in South Korea.

An Australian survivor of the crush suggested that the cause of such a disaster was due to the authorities’ inability to effectively control the situation. “I believe 100 percent that this incident is a result of the government’s mismanagement and the lack of ability, because I have known that the Halloween event has always been this big in Itaewon,” he said. “This year, there was clearly not enough police presence.” The Itaewon crowd crush was a disastrous event that could have been preventable with better crowd control.