In the Itaewon crush, five friends went out for a night of trick or treating, and only two came home alive. While the death toll is not yet known, authorities claim that there are no guidelines to handle large crowds. Women are often among the most vulnerable in these “crowd turbulence” situations. (Also Read: Russian agents may have hacked Liz Truss’s personal phone)
Table of Contents
- The Itaewon stampede killed 156 people.
- Authorities say they have no guidelines for handling huge crowds.
- Women are most vulnerable during “crowd turbulence” situations.
- Authorities could have prevented the stampede by enforcing one-way walking lanes.
- Hundreds of abandoned shoes have been laid out in a badminton court.
The Itaewon stampede killed 156 people.
The incident happened after a large group of people rushed to a bar in Itaewon, South Korea, following a report that a popular celebrity was visiting. There is no exact explanation for the stampede, but authorities are investigating. The country’s president has declared a period of national mourning. The incident comes less than two years after a ferry sank off the coast of Busan, killing 304 people.
The cause of the stampede is still under investigation, but initial reports indicate that the stampede occurred at 10:20 p.m. local time on Halloween. Thousands of partygoers had gathered in the popular entertainment district, and the crowds swelled, resulting in a deadly stampede. Rescue workers were unable to reach the crowded alleys in time.
President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea has declared a week of national mourning after the tragedy. He has called for better crowd control measures to prevent future tragedies. He also visited the scene and vowed to launch an investigation. In the meantime, emergency responders are providing CPR to the survivors.
The city’s governmental agencies have started the process of setting up a joint memorial altar, which will be set up in Seoul Plaza and Itaewon. Itaewon is known for its Halloween festivities and attracts people from all over Asia. So, before the stampede happened, all of the hotels and ticketed events in the area were full. It was expected to be a busy night in Seoul.
Authorities say they have no guidelines for handling huge crowds.
Authorities in South Korea are saying they have no guidelines for handling the huge crowds on Halloween. This comes after 154 people died in a stampede on the night of October 31 in the popular nightlife district of Itaewon. The crowds, some only four meters wide, had no space to move and were uncontrollable, according to witnesses. A few police officers could have prevented the disaster, analysts said.
According to Oh Seung-jin, director of the National Police‘s violent crime investigation department, there is no specific guideline for events of this size. However, more police forces were deployed in the area, in part to prevent crime and illegal activities. The victims were mostly young people.
Authorities in South Korea are facing widespread criticism for their lack of prevention and response strategies following the mass Halloween celebration that killed more than 150 people in Seoul on Halloween. The city’s police department was forced to deploy 137 officers to the area to keep track of the crowds. This was clearly not enough, as police officers failed to deal effectively with emergency calls.
A proper crowd control plan would have prevented the deaths in the alleyways and kept the number of people on the streets down. However, there was no central organizing entity for the annual Halloween festival in Seoul. Therefore, the authorities did not have any safety protocols to handle massive crowds.
Women are most vulnerable during “crowd turbulence” situations.
A deadly crush in Itaewon alleys on Saturday left 156 people dead, among them, 101 women. Women are smaller and less physically strong than men, which makes them particularly vulnerable to these kinds of crushing situations. But, what exactly causes crowd turbulence?
Authorities could have prevented the stampede by enforcing one-way walking lanes.
In an effort to prevent further deaths in the capital, authorities could have enacted a number of measures. One of these measures is to block off entry to narrow pathways. Another is to temporarily shut down the main road and subway station in Itaewon for traffic. This would have provided more space for people to spread out.
Hundreds of abandoned shoes have been laid out in a badminton court.
A gym in Seoul has a huge collection of lost and found items, including hundreds of pairs of shoes. The items, totaling about 1.5 tons, were assembled by police, hoping to recover them from their owners. A police officer said the shoes had been abandoned by people, and the police would like to find them. (Also Read: Instagram Bug: Some Users’ Accounts Are Suspended)
