Halloween crush victims’ families demand inquiry one year after Seoul tragedy

A massive rally was held on the first anniversary of the crowd surge that killed about 160 people in a Seoul alleyway (Ahn Young-joon/AP)

Bereaved relatives of victims of last year’s devastating Halloween crush in Seoul and their supporters demanded an independent investigation into the disaster as they marked the anniversary with a massive memorial service.

The crush, one of the biggest peacetime disasters in South Korea, killed 159 people, most of them aged in their 20s and 30s, who had gathered in the nightlife district of Itaewon for Halloween celebrations.