'Inadequate response': South Korean deadly Halloween crush probe ends

ANKARA (AA) – South Korea's police on Friday said a lack of preparation and an inadequate response were the main causes of the deadly Halloween crush in Seoul last year that killed 159 people, according to local media.

Police concluded its monthlong investigation into the deadly incident and declared it a "man-made" disaster, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The special investigation team said the incident was a failure of local authorities and it could have been prevented, according to the report.

The investigators also referred 23 officials to prosecution due to their professional negligence and other charges.

Yongsan Ward office chief Park Hee-young and former Yongsan Police Station chief Lee Im-jae are among those referred by the investigation team to the prosecution with detention on charges of professional negligence resulting in deaths, according to the agency.

In October last year, 159 people, mostly youngsters, were killed in the tragic incident that happened in the capital Seoul’s entertainment district of Itaewon during the Halloween celebration.

It marked the country’s worst tragedy since the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster that killed 304 people, most of them high school students.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid