[Itaewon Tragedy] Female Deaths 97 > Male 54 ... Why Were Female Victims More Numerous?

Child and Female Victims Suffer More in Crushing Accidents Under Strong Pressure
Generally, Males Have Better Physical Recovery Ability Than Females

Ahead of Halloween, on the 30th, a massive crush disaster occurred in the Itaewon area. Police forces are controlling the scene and moving busily in the Itaewon area, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] As of the 29th, the death toll from the crush accident that occurred in an alley near the Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, has been counted at 151, with female fatalities numbering 97, which is twice the number of male victims. Experts analyzed that in crush accidents where strong pressure is applied, children and women tend to be more heavily affected.

On the 30th, Lee Song-gyu, president of the Korea Safety Experts Association, explained in an interview with SBS, "If we consider the weight of one person to be about 50 kg, then 100 people would amount to about 5 tons," adding, "Weak individuals such as women, as well as shorter people, are crushed, and their condition worsens under various factors."

President Lee further stated, "If 5 tons of pressure is pushed forward, the people in the middle who are weaker suffer if the last person does not get pushed. This time, children and women were the victims. Weak individuals such as women and shorter people were crushed and their situations worsened due to various factors," he elaborated. "Once the collapse starts, inertia builds up, so unless each person is continuously supported at the moment of falling, accidents will inevitably continue."

Regarding the discovery of victims in a state of cardiac arrest, he said, "Everyone was crushed simultaneously and received CPR while in cardiac arrest, but it is extremely difficult," adding, "The process of switching during CPR is not perfect, and there are people who have not fully recovered during the chain of CPR efforts, so additional casualties are expected in the future."

Professor Park Jae-sung of Soongsil Cyber University (Department of Fire and Disaster Prevention) also appeared on 'YTN News Special Report' on the same day to analyze why female victims were more numerous: "The reason why female casualties were overwhelmingly higher than males is that women have less physical strength to resist and endure pressure and similar forces compared to men. Also, women tend to have lower physical ability to recover easily after an accident compared to men, which likely led to more female victims."

Experts suggested that the only way to prevent such accidents is to predict and prepare for their possibility. Professor Yoo Woo-jun of Dongyang University (Department of Architectural Fire Safety) mentioned in a phone interview with 'Yonhap News' that, citing cases from the UK and China, "Installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) in areas prone to accidents and using video analysis technology to monitor population, traffic direction, and density in real-time could trigger safety management systems when certain thresholds are exceeded."

Regarding the Itaewon crush disaster, the government declared Yongsan-gu a special disaster zone. A joint memorial altar was set up at Itaewon Plaza, and Seoul City canceled all events and planned to establish a joint memorial altar at Seoul Plaza.

Seoul City plans to support the bereaved families by identifying the personal information and contact details of the deceased. Dedicated public officials will be assigned to each bereaved family, and funeral measures are being reviewed. The city stated that funeral procedures and support for the bereaved will be conducted with the families' wishes fully respected. The operation of cremation facilities will also be increased by up to 60 cases per day.

Seoul City stated, "We are prioritizing accident recovery and support for the bereaved families, deploying all city resources, and will actively cooperate with related agencies such as the police to investigate the cause of the accident."

The fire authorities announced that as of 9 a.m. on the 30th, 151 people have died and 82 were injured, totaling 233 casualties. Among the deceased, 97 were women and 54 were men.

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