After tragedy in Seoul, authorities allege ‘lack of guidelines’ for crowds

South Korean authorities said on Monday they had no guidelines for dealing with the huge crowds that gathered for Seoul’s Halloween festivities, as families in the country and around the world mourn the 154 victims of the crowd of Saturday night.

The melee took place in narrow, neon-lit alleys of the popular nightlife district of Itaewon, where witnesses described being unable to move or breathe as thousands of revelers stood shoulder to shoulder on a street no more than 4 meters wide.

Frantic families spent much of Sunday gathering at information centers where authorities compiled details of the dead and wounded, and contacting morgues and hospitals in a desperate attempt to locate missing relatives.

With all victims now identified, panic has turned to national grief as the country faces one of its worst disasters of all time – and parents abroad make arrangements for their deceased children in a foreign land.

Official memorial altars were set up in downtown Seoul on Monday, with photos showing crowds visiting to pay their respects. Many were crying and holding white flowers; others knelt and bowed deeply to the altar.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, his wife Kim Keon-hee and senior officials including the Prime Minister and Mayor of Seoul joined the mourners.

Many shops and businesses were closed to observe a week-long national period of mourning. Parts of downtown Seoul were nearly deserted – a highly unusual sight in the normally bustling capital that is home to around 10 million people.

People also paid their respects at a makeshift memorial in Itaewon, outside a subway station near the alley where the riot took place. The entrance to the station is adorned with rows of flowers and offerings like handwritten notes, bottles of Korean soju liqueur and paper cups filled with drinks.

Among the bereaved was a civic group of families affected by the Sewol Ferry disaster, which killed 304 people – most of them teenagers on a school trip – when the ship sank in 2014.

“As someone who has suffered the same pain, my heart is torn apart and I am speechless,” one of the group’s members told reporters at the memorial, saying the families were saddened to see “a major disaster like this repeated.”

Questions about police numbers

Down the street, the alley entrance had been cordoned off with security guards on guard, while forensic teams dressed in white protective suits scoured the area, still littered with trash and debris.

Amid the pain, questions arose about how the government handled the incident and an apparent lack of crowd control before the tragedy.

One survivor, 22-year-old French exchange student Anne-Lou Chevalier, told CNN who passed out in the crowd after being “crushed” by other revelers. “At some point I had no air and we were so crushed with other people that I couldn’t breathe. Then I passed out,” Chevalier said.

Several eyewitnesses and survivors said they saw few or no police in the area before the situation deteriorated.

Earlier on Sunday, the Minister of Interior and Security said that only a “normal” level of security personnel were sent to Itaewon because the crowd did not seem unusually large – while a “considerable number” of police were sent to another part of Seoul. in response to expected protests.

But — facing a backlash from Korean politicians and on social media — officials appeared to change course on Monday, saying they sent about 137 employees to Itaewon that night, compared with about 30 to 70 employees in previous years before the pandemic.

“For the Halloween festival of this time, because many people were expected to gather in Itaewon, I understand that it was prepared by putting in more police force than in other years,” said Oh Seung-jin, director of the Violent Crimes Investigation Division at the National Police Agency.

However, he admitted, “there is currently no separate preparation manual for such a situation where there is no organizer and a crowd is expected to gather”. Furthermore, the police were mobilized not for crowd control – but for crime prevention and to prevent “various illegal activities”.

Kim Seong-ho, director of the security and disaster management division at the Ministry of Interior and Security, echoed those comments, saying they had “no guidelines or a manual” for an “unprecedented situation”.

victims emerge

The victims were mostly young people who went to Itaewon on Saturday night, looking forward to South Korea’s first Halloween celebrations in years without Covid restrictions.

Of the 154 dead, 12 were teenagers and 102 were in their 20s, the Interior and Security Ministry said in its report on Monday, with 55 men and 99 women dead.

Among them were 26 foreigners from countries such as the United States, China, Iran, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, Australia, Norway, France, Russia, Austria, Vietnam, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

Another 149 people were injured, 33 seriously, including 15 foreigners.

Six students attending schools in Seoul – one elementary school student and five high school students – were among the dead, as were three teachers, the Korean Ministry of Education said.

Three South Korean service members are also among the dead, an official at the Korean Defense Ministry said.

Two American college students were identified – Steven Blesi from Georgia and Anne Gieske from Kentucky – both in their freshman year.

Blesi’s father Steve Blesi said his son “has always been an adventurer”. He was a Boy Scout, liked basketball and wanted to learn several languages, he said.

“Maybe half an hour before this tragic event, I texted him on WhatsApp… ‘I know you’re out of the house. Stay safe. I love you.’ And I never got a response,” Steve said. “He had an incredibly bright future that is now gone.”

Dan Gieske, Anne’s father, said in a statement Sunday night that the family was “completely devastated and heartbroken”, calling Anne “a shining light loved by all”.

Anne was a nursing student studying abroad in Seoul this semester, said the president of the University of Kentucky.

The father of Mei Tomikawa, a 26-year-old Japanese exchange student who was killed in the melee, told Japanese public broadcaster NHK he was “prepared for the worst” when he couldn’t reach her.

She was studying Korean before starting school in Seoul, he said, speaking before traveling from Japan to South Korea on Monday.

“I tried calling her to warn her to be careful, but she never answered the phone,” he said, according to NHK. “She was a great daughter… I want to see my daughter as soon as possible.”

The family of an Australian victim, Grace Rached, also released a statement on Monday describing her as “a talented film producer passionate about making a difference”.

“We are missing our beautiful angel Grace, who lit up a room with her infectious smile. Grace always made others feel important and her kindness left an impression on everyone she met. Grace always cared for others and was loved by everyone,” the family wrote.

Authorities are now working with foreign embassies and families abroad, offering support with funeral arrangements.

As the week goes on, more names and faces of those who died are likely to emerge as the country looks for answers on how such a disaster – in an area known to be crowded on Halloween, with weeks of festivities planned – could unfold.

— CNN’s Niamh Kennedy contributed to this report.