Live from memorial altar in central Seoul: mourners pay respects to crowd crush victims
서울광장 합동분향소 닷새째 추모 발길 이어져 People here... are braving... the abrupt plunge... in mercury levels... to pay... their respects... and share... their condolences... at memorials... set up... amid the Halloween tragedy... this past weekend. I have... my colleague... Choi Min-jung ... standing by... live... at Seoul Plaza. Min-jung? Hi Sunny. As you said, I'm here at Seoul Plaza,... where one of the memorial altars has been set up since Monday. It's a very chilly morning,.. and people have already come here to mourn in silence. So far, as of Thursday evening, a total of more than 96-thousand people have paid their respects to the victims at memorial sites…. set up in the capital. We saw more than 19-thousand people offer their condolences in Seoul, yesterday alone. Just a little earlier this morning, at around 9 AM, President Yoon Suk-yeol visited this altar once again. President Yoon has been visiting memorial altars... every morning... since Monday. President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier who is on a short visit to Korea also came here to Seoul Plaza this morning to offer his condolences. Thailand's minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation,... and Sri Lanka's minister of Labor and Foreign Employment were also here to pay their respects. "Our thoughts and our feelings in Thailand are deep sorrow... I can say that on behalf of the Thai government, which I am a part of, and on behalf of the Thai people, we hope that Korea, particularly Korean youth will rise up, stand up and walk ahead... We hope this kind of incident will not happen again, not only in Korea but any part of the world." "It is tragic that this incident happened, but it is something we cannot blame anyone for. Sri Lanka being a friend of South Korea, we express our deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones." Other public figures including Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon and a number of ambassadors to South Korea visited the altar here at Seoul Plaza to pay tribute as well. I also talked to some of the citizens who came to grieve amid shock and disbelief. "I hope the deceased can have a better, happier existence,... at peace now." "I myself often go to Itaewon, so I feel closely linked to the tragedy. I came here on my way to work." Right... this tragedy is bringing... the country... together... as it seeks... to understand... this senseless loss. And... before you go... Min-jung ... do we have any updates... with regard to the actual accident? Sunny, as of 11 AM today, the number of deaths remains at 1-hundred 56. As we already know, 1-hundred 30 of them are Koreans, and 26 are foreign nationals. Among the injured, 33 people are still being treated at local hospitals,.. and the rest have returned home after receiving treatment. Officials say funerals have been held for all but one Korean national. Funerals have been held for seven foreign nationals,... with some already returned to their home countries. Several memorial altars have been set up in 25 districts of Seoul where people can continue to pay tribute until this Saturday,... which is the last day of the week-long national mourning period. The altar here at Seoul Plaza is open from 8 AM to 10 PM,... but people can come here and pay their respects outside these hours. That's all for now, back to you Sunny. All right... Min-jung ... thank you for the latest. #Itaewon #memorial_altar #arirang_news 📣 Facebook : / arirangtvnews 📣 Twitter : / arirangtvnews 📣 Homepage : http://www.arirang.com/news/News_Inde... 2022-11-04, 14:00 (KST)
