South Korea mourns Halloween crowd surge victims

A man pays tribute near the site of a stampede that happened during Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct 31, 2022. - Reuters

SEOUL (AFP): South Koreans gathered Monday (Oct 31) at memorials honouring the 154 people killed in a crowd surge at Halloween celebrations, as authorities faced accusations that lax crowd control had caused the disaster.

Police said Monday they had set up a task force to investigate the exact cause of the fatal crush, seizing CCTV from businesses close to the scene in Seoul's popular Itaewon district and interviewing dozens of witnesses.