Shoes retrieved by police from the scene are displayed in a badminton court in Seoul
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Hundreds of pairs of shoes have been lined up in a South Korean gym following the deadly Halloween crowd surge, in the hopes that owners or victims’ loved ones will retrieve them.
Many of the abandoned shoes, including trainers, loafers and boots, appear muddy and scuffed, a sobering reminder of the force of Saturday’s stampede in Itaewon that killed 156 young partygoers. Some have been stained with blood.
Police have assembled the shoes in a badminton court in Seoul, along with 1.5 tons of lost items from the scene of the crush.
Part of the crowd got jammed in a narrow, downhill alley between a dense row of storefronts and the district’s landmark Hamilton Hotel.
Partygoers were seen carrying out the wounded and dead, while dozens of lifeless bodies covered in blankets were laid out in rows on the nearby pavement.
Most of the victims were women and many of them were missing shoes, which experts say reflects the force of a crowd surge that stripped footwear from their feet in the crush.
Some 250 pairs of shoes at the gym are part of a huge collection of abandoned items.
There are also hundreds of pieces of clothing, including coats and Halloween costumes, as well as handbags, smartphones, glasses, hats, make-up and passports.
There were items of sentimental value, including a selfie booth photo of revellers dressed up as the Teletubbies.
Yongsan police officials will keep the gym open until Sunday.
As of Tuesday afternoon, 156 people were confirmed dead and 151 were being treated for injuries, with 29 of them in critical condition.
Officials say 26 of the dead were foreign nationals, including five Iranians, four Chinese, four Russians, two Americans and two Japanese citizens.
South Korean police have admitted that crowd control was “inadequate” on the night, and the country’s chief security officer apologised for the tragedy.
