William and Kate’s ‘love and prayers’ for relatives of Korean victims

Kate and William send a message to grieving loved ones after 153 people died in South Korea (Image: Getty)The victims, mostly aged in their teens and 20s, were killed when a huge crowd in Seoul funnelled into a narrow alley in the Itaewon nightlife district on Saturday.A post on the Kensington Palace Twitter account said: “Catherine and I send all our love and prayers to the parents, families and lovedones of those tragically lost in Seoul yesterday evening.”William and Kate’s words came after Rishi Sunak described the deaths as “horrific”, adding: “Our thoughts are with South Koreans at this distressing time.” Foreign Secretary James Cleverly was “saddened by the tragic situation” while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called it “horrendous news”.At least 82 people were also injured in the disaster.Lee Sang-min, South Korea’s Interior Minister, said officials did not anticipate such a large crowd in the Itaewon district, which has been estimated at 100,000.Mr Lee added some victims were still be named because they were below the age of 17 or did not have an adult ID.South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has declared a week of national mourning and ordered flags at buildings to fly at half-mast.Mr Yoon, who visited the scene of his country’s worst disaster in years, called for an investigation and a review of safety at other large events.Teacher Gabrielle Austin, from Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, who now lives in South Korea, went to Itaewon as she heard it was “the place to be” for Halloween.She became separated from friends and stayed safe. But she said: “People were crying and hysterical. There were bodies on the floor. People were trying to give CPR.”We feel so lucky. We must have missed the crush by about 10 minutes.”The country’s foreign ministry said 26 foreign nationals from 15 countries were killed.