The number of fatalities from the Halloween crowd surge in South Korea has risen to 154 people, 26 of whom were foreign nationals, South Korean officials said on Oct. 31. Two American college students were among the victims.
One foreigner has been hospitalized, while 14 others have returned home, South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said.
Park said the government is considering ways to provide foreign victims with assistance comparable to that provided to local citizens. He noted that South Korea would also provide help to the victims’ bereaved families.

2 American Victims
Two American college students were among those killed in the crush. One was Anne Gieske, a nursing student at the University of Kentucky who was studying in South Korea through a study abroad program.“There aren’t adequate or appropriate words to describe the pain of a beautiful life cut short. It isn’t fair, nor is it comprehensible. It is loss and it hurts in ways that are impossible to articulate,” Capilouto said.
Steven Blesi, a student at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, was also killed in the crush. His father, Steve Blesi, said that his son was in South Korea to study international business and the Korean language.