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| Foreign nationals lay flowers to mourn victims of the Itaewon crowd crush disaster at Itaewon Station, Seoul, Oct. 31. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Nam Hyun-woo
Funeral services for 17 out of 26 foreign victims who died in the Itaewon crowd crush have been conducted as of Sunday. The deadly incident killed 156 people who were enjoying the Halloween festivities in the bustling nightlife district on Oct. 29.
Four foreign nationals are currently receiving medical treatment, according to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.
Funeral services for six out of the nine remaining victims will be carried out within this week.
"Upon their arrival in their home countries, our officials from embassies there will receive the bodies and join their funeral services, to offer the best support we can provide," said Kim Seong-ho, the disaster and safety director at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
The government has announced that it will provide the same financial aid to foreign victims as it does to Korean nationals. The bereaved families will be offered up to 20 million won in relief money and up to 15 million won for funeral expenses, which includes the cost of repatriating the bodies or remains of the victims to their home countries.
So far, applications have been received for 17 foreign victims, and payments were completed for 14.
Along with them, the funeral services for 130 Korean victims were completed on Sunday.
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