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Vent Grate Collapses at South Korea Concert, At Least 16 Dead

Crowd's weight caused steel structure to collapse, officials said.

ByABC News
October 17, 2014, 11:06 AM

— -- At least 16 people are dead and nearly a dozen injured after the ventilation grate they were standing on collapsed at an outdoor pop concert in South Korea today, officials said.

The crowd had climbed up a steel grate to get a better view of the stage, and their weight caused the grate to collapse -- sending their bodies crashing 40 feet below, rescue authorities told ABC News.

PHOTO: A police official examines the scene of an accident at a shopping district in Seongnam Oct. 17, 2014.
A police official examines the scene of an accident at a shopping district in Seongnam Oct. 17, 2014.

Hundreds of people were gathered at the show in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, to watch 4Minute, a popular girls' band, perform as part of a local festival.

PHOTO: Rescue workers stand around a collapsed ventilation area on Oct. 17, 2014 in Seongnam, South Korea.
Rescue workers stand around a collapsed ventilation area on Oct. 17, 2014 in Seongnam, South Korea.

Video from a concert-goer that ran on South Korea's YTN television network shows the group continuing to dance for a short while after the crash, apparently unaware that the grate behind them had collapsed, according to The Associated Press.

PHOTO: Rescue workers stand around a collapsed ventilation grate on Oct. 17, 2014 in Seongnam, South Korea.
Rescue workers stand around a collapsed ventilation grate on Oct. 17, 2014 in Seongnam, South Korea.

Many of the concert-goers were female students, witnesses said.

The steel grate was 13 square feet. Eleven people were injured.

PHOTO: Rescue workers carry an injured person on a stretcher after a ventilation grate was collapsed at an outdoor theater in Seongnam, south of Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 17, 2014.
Rescue workers carry an injured person on a stretcher after a ventilation grate was collapsed at an outdoor theater in Seongnam, south of Seoul, South Korea, on Oct. 17, 2014.