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South Korea admits failures in crowd crush that has claimed 156 lives

People pray for victims of a deadly accident following Saturday night's Halloween festivities on a street near the scene in Seoul, South Korea, Nov. 1, 2022. [AP Photo]

South Korea's police chief acknowledged failures in handling last week's deadly Halloween crowd surge, as officials try to contain public outrage over one of the country's deadliest peacetime disasters.

An initial investigation revealed police received several emergency calls from frightened partygoers before the accident occurred late Saturday, according to Yoon Hee-keun, the commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency.

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