SEOUL, – Intensive crowd control measures will be implemented in the country’s four most crowded entertainment areas, including Itaewon and Hongdae, during the upcoming Halloween period, the National Fire Agency said Wednesday.
The plan comes as South Korea is preparing for the first Halloween weekend since last year’s deadly crowd crush that claimed the lives of 159 Halloween partygoers in a downhill back alley in Seoul’s Itaewon district.
The fire agency said a series of intensive crowd management measures will be implemented in Seoul’s Itaewon, Hongdae and Myeongdong areas, as well as Dongseong-ro in the southeastern city of Daegu from Friday to next Thursday. The four districts are expected to attract the biggest crowds during the upcoming Halloween weekend.
As part of the measures, an emergency management officer will be dispatched to each of the four areas. On-site command posts will operate in these areas until all crowds disperse and nighttime patrols will be intensified to prevent any accident, officials said.
An expanded number of emergency rescuers and ambulances will also stand by in the crowded areas to prepare against any emergency situation.
The fire agency also plans to pre-allocate hospital beds for emergency patients to disperse patients in case of a safety accident.
They also plan to maintain continuous communication networks with other government agencies responsible for rescue operations, such as police and regional governments, as well as the areas’ merchant communities to ensure smooth cooperation with them.
Since last week, fire authorities have been conducting fire safety inspections at multiuse facilities in areas where large crowds are expected to gather for Halloween celebrations. During the inspections, authorities had illegal installations at such facilities removed and emergency exit routes cleared to ensure unhindered evacuation in the event of an emergency situation.
Nam Hwa-yeong, commissioner general of the National Fire Agency, urged people not to use firefighter or police uniforms for Halloween costumes to make sure speedy rescue operations can take place in case of an emergency.
“We will make thorough preparations against the possibility of an accident with other related agencies to ensure prompt communications and on-site responses can take place,” he said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency