NATION MOURNS TRAGEDY VICTIMS

[Anchor Lead]

Three days have passed since the Itaewon disaster occurred. On Monday, streams of people visited the joint memorial altar set up at Seoul Plaza to mourn the victims. People stressed that a tragic incident like this should not happen again.

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A long line of mourners had already formed by the morning hours. They walk towards the memorial altar with a grim look on their faces. Some people lay handwritten letters to express their heavy hearts. While performing a deep bow, they are helplessly moved to tears.

[Soundbite] Park In-sil(Yongin Resident) : "It is utterly heartbreaking to see young people unexpectedly die in such an accident."

They stressed in unison that tragedies like this should not repeat itself.

[Soundbite] Park Jun-yong(Seoul Resident) : "I hope this kind of accident will not be repeated. There should be discussions to devise measures and prevent such disasters."

People visit the memorial altar even after nightfall.

[Soundbite] Seol Ye-jin(Seoul Resident) : "I am wondering whether the crush could have been prevented if there had been crowd control measures. It is indescribable. I am deeply saddened."

The memorial altar at Seoul Plaza operates from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Yongsan-gu district office set up a memorial altar at Noksapyeong Station, which will be open all day long. 24 other district offices in Seoul also set up memorial altars.. As of 5 p.m. on Monday, nearly 10,000 people visited memorial altars across Seoul to mourn the Itaewon crush victims. The government announced measures to support the victims and their families. It will provide up to 15 million won to cover funeral expenses. Medical fees for the injured will be first paid with state health insurance funds. The bereaved families and the injured will receive exemptions or postponements on taxes and communication rates.