Sharma, A. and McCloskey, B and David S. Hui, DS and Rambia A, A and Zumla, A and Traore , T and Shafi, A and El-Kafrawy, E and Azhar, EI and Zumla, A and Rodrigues-Morales AJ., AJ (2022) Global mass gathering events and deaths due to crowd surge, stampedes, crush and physical injuries – Lessons from the Seoul Halloween and other disasters. Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease (102524).

Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)

Abstract

On October 29, 2022, a celebration night for Halloween in Seoul, South Korea, tens of thousands of revellers dressed in costumes crowded into the Itaewon district for the first unrestricted Halloween festivities since over two years of COVID-19 lockdowns. The large cumulative numbers of partygoers assembling in narrow streets with constrained access and exit points created a lethal combination. Videos taken over that night show people were trapped, crushed and unable to move or breathe, exacerbating panic that rapidly spiralled out of control. That resulted in one of the worst stampede disasters in South Korea, which caused 156 deaths and crush injuries in 170 [1]. Twenty-six of the deceased were from 14 countries, including the U.S.A, France, Thailand and Japan. Whilst the specific underlying factors leading to this tragedy is being determined; initial reports point towards inadequacies in pre and during-event planning, risk assessment, anticipated hazards, police response, and absence of effective rapid emergency response mechanisms, crowd management strategies and non-structural risk reduction measures. Whilst overcrowding, crowd surges due to unexpected events and stampede-associated crush injuries and deaths are well recognised as one of the most major non-communicable public health hazards at mass gathering events (Table 1), the South Korean Halloween night tragedy highlights that the current knowledge and understanding of these disasters is inadequate.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	1.National Centre for Cell Science, Pune, India. 2. Royal Institute of International Affairs, London, UK. 3.The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China. 4. Royal Albert Edward Infirmary, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust, Wigan, United Kingdom. 5.Emergency Preparedness and Response Programme, WHO Regional Office for Africa, Dakar Hub, Dakar, Senegal. 6 Mass Gatherings and Global Health Network, London, UK. 7 Special Infectious Agents Unit-BSL3, King Fahd Medical Research Center, and Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. 8 Department of Infection, Division of Infection and Immunity, University College London; and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. 9 Grupo de Investigación Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundación Universitaria Autónoma de Las Américas, Institución Universitaria Vision de Las Americas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia, Editor-in-ChiefTravel Medicine and Infectious Diseases; Master of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru; Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, Lebanese American University, Beirut, P.O. Box 36, Lebanon. Electronic address: arodriguezmo@cientifica.edu.pe.
Subjects:	Insect Molecular Biology
Depositing User:	Mr. Rameshwar Nema
Date Deposited:	03 Jan 2023 11:39
Last Modified:	03 Jan 2023 11:47
URI:	http://nccs.sciencecentral.in/id/eprint/1230

Actions (login required)

View Item