[Breaking] Ventilation Window Collapses During 4Minute Performance, 25 Spectators Fall 3 Stories

[theemii.livejournal.com]

Korean media outlet The Fact recently reported that at a 5 p.m. event in Sungnam on October 17, during a 4Minute performance, a ventilation window collapsed, causing 25 spectators to fall below the surface. Wikitree stated that the fall was roughly 10 meters (about 3.3 stories).

According to the report by The Fact, police and rescue workers have arrived at the scene and are working to rescue the spectators, penetrating a wall four stories below the surface to reach the injured. As of right now, two have been confirmed dead, and 13 have been rescued. Police think the vent may have collapsed from the weight of audience members who climbed on top of it to get a better view of the performances, although a more detailed investigation is currently under way.

Although the event was not organized by Cube Entertainment, the agency has stated that it will release an official statement soon.

Update 1:

According to the latest announcement by the police, 14 have been confirmed dead and 11 have been seriously injured.

Update 2:

As of 8:45 p.m. KST, the number of dead has increased to 15, and 10 have been seriously injured. The injured have been transferred to hospitals in Bundang and Sungnam for medical treatment.

Update 3:

A representative of the fire authority revealed to Yonhap News, “12 passed away at the accident location, and two passed away while being transferred to the hospital. Others have passed away while receiving medical treatment.” According to the officials, the number of dead is likely to increase. According to Yonhap News, 16 have been confirmed dead.




Cube Entertainment has given an official statement on the ventilation window accident that happened during a 4Minute performance.

4Minute was performing as one of the acts in the “Pangyo Techno Valley Festival,” along with T-Ara, Junggigo, 2Bic, and Cherry Filter. Spectators had climbed onto a ventilation window to get a better view of the concert, and due to the weight of the currently reported twenty-six people, the window had collapsed. The spectators fell 10 meters, and since the incident the number of deaths has risen to 16, with 10 injured.

Although the event was not organized by Cube Entertainment, because the incident happened while 4Minute was performing, the agency has released an official statement. “There is no way to measure the amount of grief in our hearts…The members and the staff did not know what had happened during their performance and only learned of the incident on their way back to Seoul. We hope no more people get hurt because of this incident.”


Source: Soompi (2)

Comments

[gee.livejournal.com]

So scary. Any kind of vent or grid always scares me, I try not to even step foot on them. I hope at least some of the people pull through :( RIP to the ones that passed.

[laeryn.livejournal.com]

I actually avoid them on the streets if I can :| and from now on I'll do it even more.

[thomaswilmoore.livejournal.com]

JFC, what a year for K-Pop.
That's completely awful, people were there having fun and then... :/

[shonen-key.livejournal.com]

Read this on mothership earlier. Hoping the death toll won't rise but since the officials said it'll likely to increase.. :( What a tragedy.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Im furious, especially after eeading Cube's bullshit statement. Those poor people, such a horrifying terrible way to die. Someone needs to be held responsible for what happened.
I think even earlier (it may have been unrelated) )Hyunseung called out Cube for mismanagement on insta.
Also if I see someone file this under "kpopalypse" 2014, Imma punch something. This is nowhere near smiliar to someone leaving a group, its an actual tragedy

[gee.livejournal.com]

What did they say? It wasn't a Cube concert so in this case I don't see how they would be responsible.

[pikapika217.livejournal.com]

This is completely horrifying. I just hope that those who have passed did so with the least amount of pain possible & that the injured can recover well.

[scionofawhisper.livejournal.com]

This is so sad.... and the number of people who died is unbelievable...

[in-noctem.livejournal.com]

The photos that show how deep the drop was are terrifying me. I don't want to post it here directly but there's a photo (https://twitter.com/hohocho/status/523079521428189184) showing the spectators on the sagging ventilator and ugh...it's just really unfortunate. May they RIP ;_;

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

Ugh, they should've had security blocking that. That's really awful.

[shintotchi.livejournal.com]

That's horrifying. What I don't get is why they were allowed to gather on top of the vent in the first place. Why was that vent in an area like that? It couldn't be ventilating much, if hordes of fans were standing on it. Does Cube even have control over that? Wouldn't it be the venue's fault?

[staygame.livejournal.com]

apparently they were told not to stand there, but i'm not sure why a physical barrier wasn't there in the first place considering how easy to climb it is.

[bunica1990.livejournal.com]

This is horrible :( RIP

I hope the ones who have been injured pull through.

[nekokonneko.livejournal.com]

oh god that's awful D:

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

This is terrifying, I've always been afraid of those ventilation events. My thoughts are with the families of the victims.

[engraved-16.livejournal.com]

oh god, that's horrible! So many deaths in one event.
Condolences to the families of those who have passed, r.i.p

[koushiba.livejournal.com]

D:
Oh my god.

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

People were too excited and forgot about safety and the possibility that the vent wouldn't hold. That area should have been fenced. Concert organizers should be aware of things like this. People push and try to get on top of things all the time. They should have predicted something like this and taken some precautions. I think the more I think about it the more I'll get angry. This could have been prevented so easily.

[camouflagecat.livejournal.com]

Omg idk why but this really struck a cord with me... It's almost chilling to remember the Sewol and subway tragedy happened this year also, it seems like such a long time ago and yet... Ppl keep bringing up the kpop related scandals for the "2014 curse" but a few major health/safety related tragedies like you said have also happened. And the shit just keeps piling up this year...

[dokyungsoo.livejournal.com]

oh my god, this is so sad. r.i.p :(

i hope the remaining survivors pull through this

[miamaimi.livejournal.com]

holy shit. I hope they rest in peace and there is a thoughtful investigation

[laeryn.livejournal.com]

Concerts are always dangerous in some ways, but damn, security should've kept people off that shit. RIP.

[hipployta.livejournal.com]

Oh that is horrible

[happydirections.livejournal.com]

wow... this is so unbelieveably sad and terrible :( :(

[timetobegin.livejournal.com]

CAN THIS YEAR STOP ALREADY JESUS CHRIST. Rip.

[paper-palms.livejournal.com]

My jaw is just DROPPED.

To the people injured, I hope they have a fast recovery!
To those that have passed due to this, I send my thoughts to them and their friends and families.

What a terrible happening. This is why safety precautions are so important...

[honeebs.livejournal.com]

This is my worst fear, those vents. I can't even walk over the small ones. So terrible.

[msgrottesca.livejournal.com]

Why the hell wasn't that blocked off? People will climb over "forbidden" areas to see artists all the time, the lack of any real physical barrier there is so confusing to me. Watch whoever hosted the concert simply sweep this under the rug by paying a tiny little fine.

[goshipgurl.livejournal.com]

jfc, 10 meters?! shit.
RIP :(