South Korea seeks answers after 153 people died at Halloween party

Shocked family members collected bodies, parents searched for children and a country sought answers this Sunday (30) after at least 153 people were crushed and died during a riot in South Korea during the Halloween festivities.

President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a period of national mourning and designated Seoul’s popular Itaewon district as a disaster zone following Saturday night’s tragedy.

“This news came like lightning in the blue sky,” said a crying father as he collected his daughter’s body from a morgue in the nation’s capital.

On Saturday, a huge crowd celebrating in Itaewon gathered and rioted, killing at least 153 people, mostly in their 20s, emergency officials said, adding that the death toll could rise.

The partiers, some still teenagers and many in Halloween costumes, were ready to enjoy the bars, clubs and restaurants where the party routinely spreads through the narrow and often steep streets of the place.

However, the street was filled with people screaming for help as emergency workers desperately sought to remove trapped bodies and tend to people strewn across the floor.

Family and friends desperately sought news of loved ones at community centers turned into missing persons facilities.
At least 90% of the victims had been identified by midday on Sunday, the Interior Ministry said.

Makeshift memorials began to appear near the site, with people leaving flowers and notes.

President Yoon expressed condolences to the victims and wishes for a speedy recovery for the many injured in one of South Korea’s worst disasters.

“This is truly tragic,” he said in a statement, promising an investigation into the cause of the disaster. “A tragedy and disaster that should not have happened happened in the heart of Seoul last night.”