Itaewon Halloween Festivities End in Disaster, 154 Dead

The Halloween celebrations in Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea, ended in a deadly disaster on Saturday, October 29th. A surge of people into narrow alleys in the area resulted in hundreds of deaths and injuries.

A total of 154 people died in the incident, 26 of whom were foreign nationals. By Sunday evening, October 30th, 132 people had been reported injured, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters.

Meanwhile, the Hannam-dong Community Center reported 4,024 missing persons by Sunday afternoon.

Local police estimated that around 100,000 people gathered for the Halloween celebrations in Itaewon on Saturday night. The surge of crowds into the narrow alleys trapped people for about an hour and a half. As a result, many died from asphyxiation.

This year's Halloween celebration in Itaewon was the first since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last year, private gatherings were limited to fewer than 10 people, and bars and restaurants had to close at 10 pm.

South Korea has entered a week-long national mourning period for the victims of the tragedy. "Following the president's directive, the government has decided to observe a national mourning period until midnight on November 5th, during which the nation will mourn for the deceased," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said, as quoted by *The Korea Herald* on Sunday, October 30th.

During this period, all government offices will fly flags at half-mast and cancel or postpone non-essential public events.