Stampede in South Korea Kills Over 150, Including US Students
(ConservativeHub.com) – On October 28, a tragic Halloween stampede in Seoul, South Korea, claimed the lives of 153 people. The festivities in the Itaewon neighborhood marked the first time the city allowed an unrestricted group celebration since the pandemic. Two 20-year-old students from the United States were among the dead.
People assembled in the area popular for its nightlife for the Halloween gathering, but it wasn’t an organized event. Still, around 100,000 came, leaving the tight alleyways packed and at a standstill when someone in the back started pushing to gain access to the clubs, bars, and restaurants. According to The New York Times, witnesses claimed there was little security available to prevent the tragedy.
Two US college students among 153 killed in Seoul Halloween stampede https://t.co/aRUiPElTzN pic.twitter.com/DANGQaw701
— New York Post (@nypost) October 30, 2022
Most of those killed were young adults, and 133 more individuals suffered injuries. People continued searching for their missing loved ones at a community center set up to identify victims.
The two Americans who died, Steven Blesi and Anne Gieske, came to the country on study-abroad programs. Blesi was a business major from Kennesaw State University in Georgia, and Gieske studied nursing at the University of Kentucky. Gieske was revealed to be the niece of US Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH), who called her a “gift from God” in a statement about her. Meanwhile, Blesi’s father told the New York Times he had communicated with his son via text right before the stampede occurred to tell him to be careful.
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