Rabat – Following yesterday’s crowd surge in Korea that resulted in 153 casualties, Morocco’s embassy in Seoul issued a statement on Sunday explaining that no Moroccan nationals were identified among the victims of the deadly stampede.
“The Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Seoul announces to all members of the Moroccan community in the Republic of Korea that it is in permanent contact with the country’s authorities and that no Moroccan is among the victims,” the statement reads.
As part of efforts to monitor the tragedy as it unfolds, the Moroccan embassy has made two emergency numbers available to the Moroccan community in South Korea, a landline: +82-2 792 7097, and a mobile number: +8210-31537-7097.
The tragedy occurred yesterday night during a street celebration of Halloween in an alley in the Itaewon district. As thousands of people flocked to the alley in celebration, the crowd surge left 153 dead.
“Someone fell in the narrow alley triggering a stampede in the crowd and people piled on top of each other,” South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Among the victims of the tragedy, 20 dead foreign nationals have been identified. The list of foreign victims includes nationals from Iran, Uzbekistan, China, and Norway.
Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Government said on Sunday that it had received about 355 missing person reports following the deadly stampede.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol announced that an investigation will be launched to investigate the stampede.
Lamenting the tragedy, Yoon said that it “should not have happened,” adding that the government would investigate the incident “rigorously” to determine the causes of the disaster. The Korean president said that yesterday’s crowd surge is one of the worst tragedies in South Korea’s recent history.
Read Also: Over 150 People ‘Crushed to Death’ in Seoul Halloween Crowd Surge
