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The brutal crushing accident in the middle of Seoul claimed 154 lives and left 149 wounded.

The government declared Yongsan, Seoul a special disaster area, and set the 5th of next month as the national mourning period.



Correspondent Lee Seong-hoon.



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Itaewon disaster killed a total of 303 people.



As of 11 am today (31st), 154 people have died and 149 people have been injured.



Of the 154 deaths, 11 were in their teens, 103 in their 20s, 30 in their 30s, 9 in their 40s, and 1 in their 50s.



By gender, there were 56 males and 98 females, a higher number of victims.



Among the injured, 33 were seriously injured and 116 were lightly injured.



The number of seriously injured is small and the number of victims may rise further.



Of the deaths, 26 were foreigners.



Iranian nationals accounted for the most with five, followed by 26 people from 14 countries, including China, Russia, the United States, and France.



It was around 10:15 last night that the fire department first received a report that people could not breathe in Itaewon.



In the 3.2-meter-wide downhill alley right next to the Hamilton Hotel, people fell one after the other and were laid on top of each other.



Cardiac arrest patients came one after another, and firefighters arrived at the scene and started emergency rescue operations, but there were already many victims.



The government declared Yongsan-gu, Seoul a special disaster zone, and set the 5th of next month as the national mourning period.