South Korea Halloween stampede: Nation mourns as it seeks answers

Sunday (October 30) proved to be a day when families were forced to search for their loved missing ones after the deadly Halloween stampede in South Korea capital Seoul. Family members collected bodies, parents searched their children as the nation sought answers for the tragedy that killed at least 153 on an evening which was supposed to be a celebration.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a period of national mourning. The president has declared Seoul's Itaewon district a disaster zone.

"This news came like a bolt from the blue sky," said a father who burst into tears as he collected his daughter's body from a morgue in the nation's capital.

Watch | South Korea Halloween horror: President Yoon Suk-yeol visits stampede site

The tragedy occurred on Saturday night as a huge crowd celebrating Halloween surged into an alley. Those killed were mainly teenagers and young adults in their 20s.

Choi Sung-beom, head of the Yongsan Fire Station, told a briefing at the scene that 82 people were injured, 19 of them seriously. The deaths included 22 foreigners, he said.

Families and friends desperately sought word of loved ones at community centres turned into facilities for missing people.

At least 90% of the victims had been identified by midday, with delays affecting some foreign nationals and teenagers who did not yet have identification cards, the Interior Ministry said.

Makeshift memorials began appearing near the site, with onlookers leaving flowers and notes.

President Yoon expressed condolences for the victims and his wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured in one of the South Korea's worst disasters and the world's worst stampedes in decades.

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

(With inputs from agencies)

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