S. Korea begins probe into Itaewon crowd crush

Nov 01, 2022, 07:51 am

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President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee visit a mourning altar for the victims of last week’s crowd crush at Seoul Plaza in Seoul on Oct. 31, 2022./ Source: Yonhap

AsiaToday reporter Kim Im-soo

The identities of all 154 victims of the horrific crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon area over the weekend have been confirmed. Of the victims, 98 were women and 56 were men. Six students and 26 foreign nationals are among the deaths.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s investigation headquarters said Monday it has completed identification of all 154 people who died in the Itaewon tragedy. The Supreme Prosecutors’ Office also said it has completed the autopsies of the deceased.

Five high school students and one middle school student enrolled in Seoul area schools died in the accident, along with three teachers, one each from Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Ulsan.

After confirming the identity of the deceased, the police have started to find the cause of the incident. The police conducted a joint investigation with the National Forensic Service, and are closely analyzing the situation through eyewitness investigation and security cameras in the area. Some witnesses claim that several citizens deliberately shoved very hard people downhill from them while shouting “Push!” Regarding this, senior police officer Nam Gu-jun said the circumstances will be further examined as eyewitness statements are not consistent.

The government set up joint memorial altars for those killed in the tragedy in 17 major cities and provinces and will receive mourners through the end of the national mourning period on Saturday.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee visited a memorial altar near the Seoul city hall on Monday and paid their respects to victims. The president discussed accident management and follow-up measures throughout the day unofficially.

Yoon issued orders overnight seven times, including two emergency orders immediately after the accident, and presided over three official meetings. At an extended weekly meeting with Prime Minister Han Duk-soo and others, Yoon said, “It is necessary to come up with a safety management system for preventing crowd accidents that can be applied to voluntary group events without an organizer like this one.”

#Itaewon #crowd crush