26 Foreigners, Including 2 American Students, Killed in Halloween Stampede in South Korea

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The number of fatalities from the Halloween crowd surge in South Korea has risen to 154 people, 26 of whom were foreign nationals, South Korean officials said on Monday. Two American college students were among the victims.

The 26 foreign victims were from the United States, Iran, China, Russia, Japan, France, Austria, Australia, Norway, Vietnam, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Sri Lanka, Yonhap News Agency reported.

One foreigner is hospitalized, while 14 others have returned home, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said.

Park said the government is considering ways to provide foreign victims with assistance comparable to that provided to local citizens. He noted that South Korea would also provide help to bereaved families.

Emergency service personnel are seen in the alley where a Halloween stampede took place late on Oct. 29 in the neighborhood of Itaewon in Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 30, 2022. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)

The Halloween celebration in South Korea turned deadly when huge crowds at the event surged into a narrow alley measuring 3.2 meters (10.5 feet) wide in Seoul’s leisure district of Itaewon. Officials said most victims were teenagers and young adults.

South Korean authorities are still investigating what caused the crowd surge.

Two American college students were among those killed in the stampede. One of them was Anne Gieske, a nursing student at the University of Kentucky who was studying in South Korea with an education abroad program.

University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto said in a statement that the university has been in contact with Gieske’s family and will provide support “now and in the days ahead” as they cope with the loss.

“There aren’t adequate or appropriate words to describe the pain of a beautiful life cut short. It isn’t fair, nor is it comprehensible. It is loss and it hurts in ways that are impossible to articulate,” Capilouto said.

Steven Blesi, 20, of Marietta, Georgia, was the second American killed in the stampede. His father, Steve Blesi, said that his son was in South Korea to study international business and the Korean language.

“I can’t imagine the suffering he endured,” Blesi told NBC News. “The South Korean police should have been better prepared.”

The U.S. Embassy in South Korea has confirmed the deaths of two U.S. citizens but declined to provide additional information due to privacy considerations.

In a statement, the embassy stated that it will work closely with local authorities and other partner organizations to assist U.S. citizens affected by the tragedy.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of so many lives last night, to include two young Americans celebrating alongside their Korean friends and others from around the world,” U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg said.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Sunday declared a national mourning period and ordered flags at government institutions to fly at half-staff following the tragedy.