South Korean police have opened an investigation into what caused a crowd surge that killed 154 people on Saturday during Halloween festivities in Seoul as President Yoon Suk-yeol and other residents paid respects to the dead at temporary mourning sites.
A 561-member task force will look into the details of the crush that also left 149 people injured, many of them critically, the Interior and Safety Ministry said.
The deadly crowd surge happened at a sloped, narrow alley in Seoul’s Itaewon district, a popular nightlife district, with witnesses and survivors recalling a “hell-like” chaos of people falling on each other “like dominoes”.
The entire Itaewon area was extremely jammed with slow-moving vehicles and partygoers clad in Halloween costumes, making it impossible for rescuers and ambulances to reach the site in time, AP reported.
South Koreans flocked on Monday to memorials honouring the dead, AFP said.
Mourners wept, prayed and placed flowers at a huge official altar set up in central Seoul for victims, mostly young women, with many railing against authorities' failures to prevent the incident.
“I am devastated by what happened; they were just trying to have a good time,” student Hwang Gyu-hyeon, 19, told AFP, weeping and struggling to speak clearly, as she explained how the deaths of so many people her own age had affected her.
“I pray for the victims. I can't believe this accident happened despite the signs that were clear beforehand. Nothing was done to prepare for this crowd,” she said.
Officers are analysing footage taken by security cameras in the area at the time of the surge and related video clips posted on social media.
They were also interviewing witnesses to find exactly when and where the crowd surge started and how it developed, said the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency.
A team comprising police officers and government forensic experts was set to conduct a joint investigation in the Itaewon area, according to local media reports.
“The government will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and do its best to make necessary improvements of systems to prevent a similar accident from recurring,” Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said.
The Itaewon area, famous for its cosmopolitan atmosphere, is the country’s hottest spot for Halloween-themed events and parties. It popularity among young South Koreans had increased in recent years.
An estimated 100,000 people were gathered there for the country’s largest Halloween celebrations since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
But some business owners in Itaewon said an even larger number of people had gathered there for Halloween weekend festivities before the onset of the pandemic.
Police said in a statement they fielded 137 officers to maintain order during Halloween festivities last Saturday — much more than the 34 to 90 officers mobilised in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Some observers said the scope of the investigation would include a look into an apparent lack of safety steps, as well as witness accounts that the crowd surge was caused by some people intentionally pushing others and making them fall.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency did not immediately publicise the details of its probe.
As of Monday morning, the government said it has identified 153 of the 154 dead people and informed their relatives. Nearly two thirds of the dead were women.
The government said the death count could rise as 33 of the 149 people injured in the crush are in serious condition.
More than 80 per cent of the dead were in their 20s or 30s while 11 were teenagers, the Interior Ministry said.
The dead also included 26 foreigners — five from Iran, four from China, four from Russia, two from the US, two from Japan and one each from Australia, Norway, France, Austria, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka, the ministry said.
President Yoon on Sunday declared a one-week period of national mourning and ordered flags at government buildings and public offices to fly at half-mast.
The crowd surge was South Korea’s deadliest disaster since 2014, when 304 people, mostly high school students, died when a ferry sank.
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Name: Lynn Davison
Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi
Children: She has one son, Casey, 28
Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite Author: CJ Sansom
Favourite holiday destination: Bali
Favourite food: A Sunday roast
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- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
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Jetour T1 specs
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Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Total fights: 32
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Key findings of Jenkins report
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- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
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Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
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Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
RESULT
Arsenal 1 Chelsea 2
Arsenal: Aubameyang (13')
Chelsea: Jorginho (83'), Abraham (87')
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons
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South Africa 66 (Tries: De Allende, Nkosi, Reinach (3), Gelant, Steyn, Brits, Willemse; Cons: Jantjies 8)
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
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