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Seoul, South Korea CNN —
ln a cavernous Seoul gymnasium Tuesday, grieving families inspected neat rows of belongings near down astatine the country of the deadly thoroughfare crush successful Itaewon.
Shoes, bags, glasses, notebooks, wallets, cardholders and colorful hats were laid retired connected makeshift tables and workout mats on the polished level – waiting to beryllium claimed by the adjacent of kin of 156 victims killed successful Saturday night’s assemblage surge.
“Found it. I deliberation this is the one,” said 1 woman, arsenic she recognized a achromatic coat, hugging it arsenic she cried.
The middle-aged woman, who had arrived with her husband, collapsed to the level successful tears aft discovering a missing brace of knee-high boots. It was among rows of achromatic boots, stilettos and sneakers. In galore cases, determination was conscionable 1 shoe.
Another younger woman, wearing a formed connected her near arm, walked into the gymnasium to find her mislaid shoe. This woman, who didn’t privation to beryllium named, said she was successful beforehand of a barroom successful the alley erstwhile the crush happened.
Stuck successful the crowd, she said she passed retired from asphyxiation “to the constituent I thought I was dead, but a foreigner shouted astatine maine to aftermath up.” Her limb was severely bruised during the incident, and aft she came to, the pistillate said she conscionable held connected until the assemblage eased and she could beryllium rescued.
Family members walked into the gymnasium, 1 by 1 and successful tiny groups, escorted by officials who hurriedly enactment connected achromatic gloves and showed them to the tables, truthful they could inspect and assertion the cautiously arranged possessions.
South Korea is successful heavy mourning for the 156 radical killed, including 26 foreigners, successful the assemblage crush connected Saturday nighttime erstwhile arsenic galore arsenic 100,000 radical crammed into the constrictive streets of Itaewon to observe Halloween.
Officials expected ample numbers owed to the popularity of the country for Halloween parties successful pre-Covid years, but constabulary person admitted they were unprepared for this year’s crowd.
Speaking to the media connected Tuesday, Yoon Hee-keun, caput of National Police Agency, bowed profoundly arsenic helium began a property conference, admitting for the archetypal clip failings connected the behalf of the constabulary successful the superior that night.
Yoon said officers failed to adequately respond to the exigency calls that flooded into the constabulary telephone halfway earlier the disaster.
“The calls were astir emergencies telling the information and urgency of the concern that ample crowds had gathered earlier the mishap occurred,” Yoon said. “However, we deliberation the constabulary effect to the 112 (emergency telephone number) calls was inadequate.”
On Monday, Oh Seung-jin, manager of the agency’s convulsive transgression probe division, said astir 137 unit had been deployed to Itaewon that night, compared to astir 30 to 90 unit successful erstwhile years earlier the pandemic.
“For this time’s Halloween festival, due to the fact that it was expected that galore radical would stitchery successful Itaewon, I recognize that it was prepared by putting successful much constabulary unit than different years,” said Oh.
However, constabulary astatine the country were tasked with cracking down connected amerciable enactment specified arsenic cause taking and intersexual maltreatment successful the country “rather than connected tract control,” Oh said.
On Tuesday, South Korea’s Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said a “lack of organization cognition and information for assemblage management” was partially to blasted for the assemblage crush.
“One of the reasons was a deficiency of heavy organization cognition and information for assemblage management. However, the constabulary are investigating,” Han said.
“Even if much constabulary were enactment successful (to the site), determination seems to person been a bounds successful the concern arsenic we don’t person a assemblage absorption system, but we’ll request to hold for the constabulary probe to find retired the cause,” helium added.
CNN newsman returns to Itaewon's constrictive alley 1 time aft the Halloween disaster. See what's it like
01:39 - Source: CNN
At a Tuesday Cabinet meeting, President Yoon Suk Yeol urged the request to found systems to forestall akin tragedies.
“In summation to broadside streets wherever this time’s ample catastrophe happened, (we) request to found information measures astatine stadiums, show venues and etc. wherever crowds gather,” helium said, adding that the authorities volition clasp a nationalist information strategy inspection gathering with applicable ministers and experts soon.
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