The police investigating the Itaewon crushing disaster are focusing on reconstructing the situation by analyzing eyewitness statements and nearby closed circuit (CC) TV.



Nam Gu-joon, head of the National Investigation Headquarters, said at a press conference today (31st), "We have formed an investigation headquarters with a total of 475 people and are closely checking the circumstances of the accident through eyewitness investigations and CCTV video analysis. We are analyzing 52 cases in 42 locations including public CCTVs as well as private CCTVs.”



General Manager Nam said, "We are also closely analyzing the SNS videos related to the accident.



Regarding the point that the number of eyewitnesses investigated so far is small, he explained, "For the police, handling the accident site and confirming the death is an urgent priority."



Director Nam added, however, that so far, there has been no case for reviewing the application of criminal charges.



Regarding the allegation that some citizens pushed the person in front of the accident at the top of the alleyway where the accident occurred, he said, "We plan to check the circumstances further because eyewitness statements are mixed."



Regarding the allegations that a crowd to see a celebrity gathered at once, he said, "The exact cause of the crowd has not been confirmed yet."



Regarding the autopsy of the deceased, Director Nam said, "



So far, it has been determined that no family members wishing to undergo an autopsy.



Regarding the suspicion that the competent local government, such as Yongsan-gu Office, did not take sufficient measures to prevent the accident, he repeated the principled answer, saying, "We are keeping all possibilities open and closely checking the circumstances of the accident and the appropriateness of safety measures."



Regarding the link between the accident and drugs, he said, "There are no drug-related reports so far."



Director Nam said that in case of defamation of the deceased or leakage of personal information, a strict investigation will be made.



Director Nam said, "I ordered an investigation (introspection) of six posts, including defamation, to the competent city and provincial police department before they were charged. We will actively review it,” he said.



(Photo = Yonhap News)