Halloween Itaewon crush accident in Korea on Oct. 29, 2022

 On Saturday, October 29, 2022, a tragic incident occurred in a narrow alley near Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea, as a large crowd gathered to enjoy a Halloween festival.

Around 10 p.m. on the day of the accident, a bottleneck situation occurred in a 18.24m² (5.5 pyeong) space in the middle of the alley on the western side of Hamilton Hotel. People became entangled with each other while trying to navigate through the increasingly crowded area. They had to maintain uncomfortable positions while waiting for emergency rescue. Meanwhile, at the northwest intersection near Hamilton Hotel, a massive influx of people occurred within 20 minutes, rapidly exacerbating the situation in the middle section of the western alley. The crowd from the initial stage of the accident accumulated towards the front, and as people in the back pushed forward three times, causing a cascading effect, the disaster at the front worsened.

To make matters worse, it was not a situation where people could easily take out their smartphones, and due to excessive traffic, phone calls and data communication were also disrupted. As a result, the people in the back were unable to grasp the seriousness of the situation through the media, and they continued to descend without knowing how critical the situation had become. When symptoms of cyanosis and vomiting increased noticeably among the crowd in the front, everyone shouted "Back! Back!" in unison, and most of the crowd in the 18.24m² space started moving in the opposite direction. However, within the 18.24m² area, there were already over 300 injured individuals trapped and unconscious, making it difficult to rescue them. Some people were already experiencing traumatic asphyxiation, while those underneath were suffering from abdominal distension due to internal organ damage. As a result, over 150 fatalities occurred in the 18.24m² space.

On a related note, the road conditions for the dispatched ambulances were not favorable, and it was not until over 40 minutes had passed since the initial video report that the ambulance access became smoother due to police road control. Professor Moon Hyun-chul from Soongsil University's Disaster Safety Management Department, who appeared on a radio broadcast, stated that while it was possible for the ambulances to enter, the situation became delayed as multiple ambulances got entangled with each other, making it difficult to evacuate to nearby available hospitals. Furthermore, there was a severe confusion where deceased individuals were prioritized for transportation in the ambulances instead of the injured.

Several warning signs had been detected multiple times before the accident occurred. On the evening of October 28, the day before the accident, the back alleys of Itaewon were crowded to the point where movement was difficult. As congestion increased in the accident-prone area, some people began pushing and shoving, resulting in heightened tensions and even reports of fights breaking out among the crowd. In addition to media reports, there were also witness accounts, videos, and photos circulating online, documenting cases of people getting injured or engaging in disputes due to being pushed around in the crowd. Furthermore, YouTuber "Ginbeolre" had planned to hold a fan meeting in Itaewon on the evening of the 29th but changed the venue to Namsan after conducting a preliminary survey of the situation and deeming Itaewon to be unsafe.

On the day of the accident, starting from the afternoon of October 29, numerous people at the scene perceived the danger caused by the uncontrollable crowd pushing in both directions. The first report mentioning suffocation was received at 18:34, 3 hours and 40 minutes before the accident occurred, and up until just before the accident, the police received a total of 11 reports through the emergency line (112), all expressing concerns about the risk of suffocation. However, the police concluded the case without taking any action. It is worth noting that the Yongsan Police Station's Itaewon Branch, which had jurisdiction over the area, was located just across from the accident site, yet the tragedy still unfolded. In particular, in the initial response, the police went to the scene but only requested the dispersal of the crowd without taking further action. It has been reported that the Yongsan Police Station, as the local jurisdiction, had requested support from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's riot police in advance and on the day of the accident, but their requests were declined for a series of reasons. However, it should be clarified that there was no official request from the Yongsan Police Station in advance, and further investigation is needed to verify the claim that Yongsan requested support verbally.

According to one netizen, they were caught in the crowd at the accident location and even lost their belongings an hour before the accident, but fortunately managed to escape. According to an interview with someone who was at the scene during the accident, there were several shockwaves within the crowd just before the accident occurred. An on-site live broadcast of the KBS 9 o'clock news, which took place in front of "Meeting Square Itaewon Main Branch," located about 100 meters away from the accident site, showed a congested scene of people going up and down the steep alleyways of Itaewon from both sides. The news also mentioned that more people were arriving as time passed, and due to the noise from the crowd and loud music from nearby speakers, it was impossible to proceed through the alley. The report showed that the news coverage had to take place on a narrow wall and flowerbed nearby.

According to SBS News, the first report regarding the risk of suffocation was received on the day of the tragedy, October 29. The initial report was received at the exact location of the accident. At 8:33 PM, a suffocation concern report was received by the police, stating that people were collapsing on the street in front of a shop in the alley where the tragedy occurred. The person who made the report repeatedly mentioned that the situation was out of control and expressed grave concern. Hwang Chang-seon, the director of public safety management at the National Police Agency, mentioned in a press briefing, "There was one report around 6 PM, but it was just a minor inconvenience that can be commonly tolerated."

According to eyewitnesses connected to the news special report and phone calls, nearby businesses closed for safety reasons after the accident and guided their customers to stay inside and not go outside. While there were opinions suggesting uncooperative behavior during the rescue operation, there were also testimonies indicating that the people inside the shops were prevented from coming out by the on-site police and fire personnel to control the situation. This was done to minimize congestion at the accident site.

After the accident, city buses passing through the vicinity of Itaewon Station were rerouted due to traffic control, including the section from Noksapyeong Station to Hangangjin Station on Itaewon-ro and the section from Itaewon Station to Cheonghwa Apartments on Bogwang-ro. Subsequently, the section from Daesagwan-ro to Hangangjin Station had its traffic control priority lifted, and from November 1st, all traffic control measures were lifted for the entire route.

To disperse the crowd, the Seoul Metropolitan Government operated two shuttle buses between Noksapyeong Station and Seoul Station starting from 3:50 AM, and Seoul Subway Line 6 provided temporary late-night services and began early services at 5 AM.

Ambulances from not only the Seoul metropolitan area but also Chungcheong Province and Gangwon Province were mobilized to the accident scene. A total of 50 ambulances from Gyeonggi, 10 from Incheon, 10 from Chungnam, 10 from Chungbuk, 10 from Gangwon, and 52 from Seoul were deployed to the accident site. In addition to the ambulance mobilization status, private ambulances, hospital ambulances, and public health center ambulances were also mobilized upon the request of the fire authorities.

The injured individuals were transported to various hospitals, including Gangbuk Samsung Hospital, Konkuk University Hospital, Kyung Hee University Hospital, National Medical Center, Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital, Ewha Mokdong Hospital, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Korea University Anam Hospital, Boramae Hospital, Chung-Ang University Hospital, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Samyuk Seoul Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital, Eunpyeong St. Mary's Hospital, Hanyang University Hospital, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Sinchon Severance Hospital, Yongin Severance Hospital, Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Soonchunhyang University Bucheon Hospital, Eulji Medical Center Nowon Eulji Hospital, Eulji Medical Center Seoul Eulji Hospital, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul Asan Medical Center, Bundang CHA Hospital, Samsung Seoul Hospital, St. Vincent's Hospital, Korea University Guro Hospital, and Armed Forces Capital Hospital Trauma Center. The deceased individuals were dispersed to various funeral homes in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Severance Hospital, which is located in Hannam-dong near the accident site, received many casualties and had to transfer the deceased to other locations due to the overflow in the mortuary.

While telephone and data communication were not smooth at the accident site, it was restored to normalcy as of 2:33 AM.

At 18:34 near Hamilton Hotel, in the vicinity of the E-Mart 24 convenience store, a report was first received by emergency services (112) stating that a large crowd was getting crushed, posing a risk of asphyxiation, and requesting personnel control measures. According to SBS, from 18:00 to 20:00, there were 28 reports, from 20:00 to 22:00, there were 51 reports, and until just before the accident, a staggering 79 reports were received in the Itaewon Station area. However, only four incidents were actually responded to.

At 22:15, a report was first received at the Seoul Comprehensive Disaster and Safety Center stating that an asphyxiation accident had occurred involving approximately 10 people.

At 22:17, the first dispatch was made by the Seobinggo Pump Truck, the Yongsan Scene Response Unit, and the Jongno Rescue Unit.

At 22:20, it was reported that more than 80 reports had been concentrated.

At 22:24, the Seobinggo Safety Center and the Hangangro Safety Center were additionally dispatched.

At 22:27, four ambulances from Yongsan were dispatched.

At 22:33, four pump trucks, two rescue units, and nine ambulances were additionally dispatched.

At 22:35, police arrived at the scene and attempted to manage the situation.

At 22:43, the Seoul Fire Department issued the first-level fire response order, and several ambulances were dispatched.

At 22:51, the Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) was dispatched to the Ambulance Situation Management Center. Subsequently, as the scale increased, DMAT teams from 14 hospitals, including Seoul National University Hospital and Hanyang University Hospital, were dispatched to the scene.

At 22:53, the temporary emergency medical center on Hangang-ro 6 was established.

At 23:08, Chief Seong-beom Choi of the Yongsan Fire Station arrived at the scene and declared command authority.

At 23:13, upon realizing that the number of casualties exceeded the initial report, the fire authorities escalated the response to the second-level fire response.

At 23:25, with the escalation of the response level, Director Choi Tae-young of the Seoul Fire Disaster Headquarters arrived at the scene and declared command authority.

At 23:30, all personnel of the fire headquarters were dispersed to nearby hospitals.

At 23:34, support was requested for 44 Gyeonggi Fire Department ambulances.

News flashes were reported by SBS and YTN, with an estimated 30 people in cardiac arrest.

At 23:45, President Yoon Seok-yeol and Prime Minister Han Deok-su urged prompt rescue and full treatment for the incident.

At 23:50, the entire Itaewon-dong area was escalated to the third-level fire response. Additionally, a total mobilization order was issued for Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi Fire Departments.

Reports emerged stating that over 100 individuals were estimated to be in cardiac arrest.

At 23:55, a breaking news subtitle on a news channel reported the first fatality near Hamilton Hotel.

Traffic control was implemented in Itaewon and around Hamilton Hotel, and city buses passing through the Itaewon-Noksapyeong route were rerouted. Furthermore, safety guidance messages were continuously sent to the Seoul area after 11:00 PM.