Teenage survivor of Itaewon crowd crush found dead in apparent suicide

SEOUL, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) — A teenage survivor of the deadly crowd crush in Seoul’s Itaewon neighborhood has been found dead in an apparent suicide, police said Thursday.

Police found the high schooler dead at an accommodation in western Seoul at 11:40 p.m. on Monday while searching the area following a report from his mother 30 minutes earlier that her son was missing, officials said.

No suicide note was found at the scene while police said there were also no signs of foul play.

“He is assumed to have taken his own life. No autopsy will be conducted according to the wishes of his family,” a police official said.

Initial findings showed he was one of the survivors of the deadly crowd crush on Oct. 29 that killed 158 people during Halloween celebrations. He lost a friend in the accident after visiting the area together on the night of the accident and had received medical treatment for injuries he sustained.

Police were looking into the circumstances of his death to determine its exact cause.