A 20-year-old college student from Sandnes, western Norway, was among the 154 people killed during a Halloween celebration in Seoul, South Korea over the weekend that suddenly turned fatal. Victims were trampled and suffocated when a crowd panicked on a narrow street.
The Norwegian victim was identitied as Stine Roalkvam Evensen, a student at the University of Stavanger who was spending a year abroad at Yonsei University i Seoul to study the Korean language. Her family called the confirmation of her death “an unreal shock” that’s “difficult to believe is true.”
Her father, who’d been in contact with his daughter just hours before the tragedy unfolded, told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) that the Halloween celebration was also a celebration of the end of Corona virus restrictions in Seoul. “They could finally all be together without face mask restrictions,” Erik Evensen told NRK.
Norway’s embassy in Seoul set up a crisis team, also to assist others who were at the scene or want to gather after the tragedy. South Korea declared a state of national mourning. Of the 154 victims confirmed so far, 20 were from abroad. In addition to Norway they came from China, Iran, Russia, the US, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Austria, Sri Lanka, Thailand and France.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
