[Itaewon Tragedy] Reviewing the Worst Crushing Accident in History

July 1990, 1,426 Crushed to Death During Hajj Sacrifice Period in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
2005, 265 Hindu Pilgrims Die in Maharashtra Temple Stampede, India
1964, 320 Killed in Crowd Invasion at Peru-Argentina Soccer Match

On the afternoon of the 29th, a large crowd gathered in the Itaewon-dong area of Yongsan-gu, Seoul, for Halloween, resulting in a major human casualty incident. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] The tragic crowd crush in Itaewon, Seoul has brought renewed attention to similar incidents that have occurred around the world in the past.

The worst crowd crush disasters in history have mostly occurred during religious events. According to major foreign media on the 30th (local time), in July 1990, during the Islamic pilgrimage 'Hajj' near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the Islamic holy site, 1,426 people were crushed to death between the Hajj period and the following 'Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice)'.

In Saudi Arabia, 119 pilgrims died on the Jamaraat Bridge in May 1994, and again 119 people died during the Hajj period in April 1998, four years later. Subsequently, 251 people died near the Jamaraat Bridge in February 2004, and 717 people died during the Hajj pilgrimage in September 2015, with most fatalities occurring during Islamic religious events.

In India, at least 265 people died in January 2005 when Hindu pilgrims crowded into a remote temple in Maharashtra state. In 2008, at the Naina Devi Temple in Himachal Pradesh, India, rumors of a landslide caused panic among pilgrims, resulting in at least 145 deaths. In the same year, in September, 147 Hindu pilgrims died near the Chamunda Temple close to Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

In April last year, 44 people were crushed to death during a Jewish festival in Israel. In January, 12 Hindu pilgrims died in the disputed Kashmir region between India and Pakistan. Also in the same month, 29 people were crushed to death during an overnight Christian event at a church in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia.

On October 2 (local time), a large-scale crush accident occurred as spectators became entangled during a professional soccer match in Indonesia. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

Large crowds losing control at sports events also frequently lead to casualties. On the 2nd, a massive crowd crush occurred at a professional football match in Indonesia. Thousands of angry spectators, upset by the match result, rushed onto the field to protest against players and team officials. When police fired tear gas to suppress the crowd, hundreds were crushed as people rushed toward the exits. Authorities reported that 125 people died and hundreds were injured in this tragedy.

A similar incident occurred in Ghana in May 2001. At a football stadium in the capital, Accra, police fired tear gas to control rioting spectators. The situation quickly turned chaotic, resulting in at least 130 deaths.

The deadliest football stadium disaster on record happened in 1964 during the Tokyo Olympics football qualifier between Peru and Argentina in Lima, Peru. Near the end of the match, when a goal by the home team Peru was disallowed, angry Peruvian spectators surged into the stadium. Police used tear gas in response, causing about 320 people trying to escape to lose their lives and 1,000 to be injured.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.