[Itaewon Tragedy] Bodies Transported to Hospital... Itaewon-ro Shops Suspend Operations Until the 31st

151 Deaths and 82 Injured as of 11 AM
36 Hospitals Transported Including Deaths Before Hospital Transfer
2,421 Police and Fire Personnel Deployed, Temporary Medical Centers Established
Police Deploy 475 Personnel to Form Investigation Headquarters to Identify Victims

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The bodies of 151 victims of the Itaewon tragedy have been transported to hospitals and funeral homes. Shops around Itaewon-ro will suspend operations until the 31st.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 30th, as of 11 a.m., the death toll from the crush disaster that occurred near Hamilton Hotel, Exit 1 of Itaewon Station, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, at 10:15 p.m. on the 29th, stands at 151, with 82 injured.

The bodies of the deceased were transported to 36 hospitals including Soonchunhyang Hospital, Seoul National University Hospital, Hanyang University Hospital, and Severance Hospital. Forty-five people who died at the scene before being transported to hospitals were temporarily placed at Wonhyo-ro Multipurpose Indoor Gymnasium and were later dispersed to hospitals and funeral homes.

The government deployed 2,421 personnel including 507 firefighters, 1,100 police officers, 800 district office staff, and 14 others. A total of 238 pieces of equipment such as rescue and ambulance vehicles and pump trucks were mobilized.

The fire department set up a temporary medical post at the scene and classified the severity of casualties to distribute them to hospitals. Three rounds of detailed searches were conducted to identify rescue targets at the accident site.

The National Fire Agency activated Response Level 1 at 10:43 p.m. on the 29th, Response Level 2 at 11:13 p.m., and Response Level 3 at 11:50 p.m., then downgraded to Response Level 1 at 6:50 a.m. on the 30th.

The National Police Agency deployed police units to control the accident site and secure ambulance routes. They assigned 475 personnel to the investigation headquarters and are verifying the identities of the casualties.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is maintaining an emergency medical response system and handling civil complaints such as missing persons reports. As of 8 a.m., 126 reports related to the Itaewon accident were received through the 120 Dasan Call Center.

The Itaewon Tourism Special Zone Council decided to suspend business operations of shops around Itaewon-ro until the 31st.

Ahead of Halloween, on the 30th, President Yoon Seok-yeol visited the Itaewon area in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where a large-scale crush disaster occurred, and inspected the site. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

President Yoon Suk-yeol issued a national address at 9:49 a.m. that day and held a Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters meeting chaired by the president at 10 a.m.

The Minister of the Interior and Safety visited the accident site at 1:05 a.m. and began operating the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters from 2:30 a.m.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters will hold daily meetings starting from the 30th and provide support to the victims and their families related to the Itaewon tragedy.

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