A South Korean singer and actor is among the many greater than 150 folks lifeless after a crowd surge throughout Halloween festivities in Seoul, South Korea.
Lee Jihan was celebrating Halloween within the Itaewon neighbourhood on Saturday when chaos ensued on the intensely overcrowded streets, inflicting a crowd crush. He was 24 years outdated.
Lee Jihan, who was killed throughout a crowd surge in Seoul on Oct. 29, 2022.
935 Entertainment
The crowd surge — which killed greater than 153 folks, together with 26 foreigners as of Monday morning — is the worst catastrophe in South Korea’s latest historical past.
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Lee’s companies, 935 Entertainment and 9Ato Entertainment, each confirmed the star’s demise in a public assertion. With plain textual content on a black background, the assertion, which is in Korean, learn: “We are sad to deliver such news today, but Lee Jihan has passed away in the crush in Itaewon last night.”
“We would like to express our deepest condolences to his family, who are saddened by the sudden tragic news, also to everyone who loved him,” the assertion continued.
Lee’s company additionally mentioned he was “a sweet and warm friend to all” who had a “bright smile” and “passion for acting.”
Lee rose to reputation after he appeared as a contestant on the Korean TV program Produce 101, a singing competitors the place hopefuls battled for certainly one of 11 spots in a brand new Korean boyband. He auditioned with a canopy of EXO’s Overdose.
He additionally carried out INFINITE’s Be Mine alongside a number of different opponents on Produce 101.
Though Lee didn’t win the competitors, he garnered a substantial fanbase after the present.
Lee later used his new reputation to earn an appearing function within the Ok-Drama Today Was Another Namhyun Day.
Saturday’s catastrophe was concentrated in a sloped, slim alley, with witnesses and survivors recalling a “hell-like” chaos with folks falling on one another like dominoes. They mentioned all the Itaewon space was jammed with slow-moving automobiles and partygoers clad in Halloween costumes, making it unimaginable for rescuers and ambulances to achieve the crammed alleys in time.
Halloween festivities in Itaewon don’t have any official organizers. South Korean police mentioned Monday they don’t have any particular procedures for dealing with incidents reminiscent of crowd surges throughout an occasion that has no organizers.
More than 80 per cent of the lifeless have been of their 20s or 30s and 11 have been youngsters, the South Korean Interior Ministry mentioned.
The crowd surge was South Korea’s deadliest catastrophe since 2014, when 304 folks, largely highschool college students, died in a ferry sinking.
According to the web site AllKPop, Lee’s funeral will happen on Tuesday.
— With recordsdata from The Associated Press
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