Police 'must explain crush response'

Tens of thousands of young revellers had crowded into narrow streets and alleyways of the popular Itaewon district for the first Halloween festivities in three years virtually free of COVID-19 restrictions.

"The police must conduct thorough inspections and provide a clear and transparent explanation to the public," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Tuesday at the televised beginning of a task force meeting on the disaster.

A transcripts of emergency calls released by the police on Tuesday showed the first warning of a possible deadly crush roughly four hours before the disaster.

Police received 10 other similar calls before the chaos was known to have turned fatal, according to the transcripts.