South Korean Government to support family of Lankan who died in Stampede

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Government of South Korea has expressed its condolences to the bereaved family of the late Mohammad Jinath (27) of Udathalawinna, Kandy who died in the stampede in Itaewon, Seoul on 29th Of October 2022.

The Ambassador of Korea to Sri Lanka Santhush Woojin Jeong conveyed to Prime Minister Dinesh Gunwardena heartfelt condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of Korea to the bereaved family of the late Mohammad Jinath.

The Ambassador called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Prime Minister’s Office on Thursday (03) to convey the condolences on behalf of his government.  

Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena also conveyed his sympathies on behalf of the Government and the people of Sri Lanka for the losses of 156 lives including 26 foreigners and for those who injured I n the stampede during Halloween celebrations.

The Ambassador further stated that the Government of Korea has decided to provide financial assistance for the family of the deceased and for his funeral purposes.

Sri Lanka is taking necessary measures to repatriate the body of the 27-year-old Sri Lankan man who died during the stampede in South Korea during the halloween weekend.

Foreign Minister Ali Sabry, PC told News 1st on the 31st of October that relatives of the deceased had requested for the body to be brought back to Sri Lanka.

South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo has promised a thorough investigation into the Halloween crush over the weekend that killed more than 150 people in the capital and plunged the country into a week of mourning.

Officials said the death toll had risen overnight to 154 with 149 injured, 33 of them in serious condition. Citizens from at least two dozen countries were among the dead.

Tens of thousands of party-goers had crowded into narrow streets and alleyways of Seoul's popular Itaewon district on Saturday for the first virtually unrestricted Halloween festivities in three years. Many of the revelers were in their teens or twenties and dressed in costume.

But chaos erupted when people poured into one particularly narrow and sloping alley, even after it was already packed, witnesses said.

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who has declared a period of national mourning and designated Itaewon a disaster zone, visited a memorial altar near the Seoul city hall and paid his respects to victims on Monday, his office said.

The crush came as Itaewon, a symbol of freewheeling nightlife in the South Korean capital for decades, was starting to thrive after more than two years of COVID-19 restrictions, with trendy restaurants and shops replacing seedy establishments.

The disaster is the country's deadliest since a 2014 ferry sinking that killed 304 people, mainly high school students.