RIAU24.COM - A report of a deadly mass explosion last October in Seoul has blamed weak planning and poor emergency response for the disaster.

Six people, including the former police chief of the local Yongsan district and the mayor of the district, have been arrested on charges of negligence.

Police have also referred 17 others to trial, including Seoul's police chief.

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But senior government officials were not named in the report.

Son Je-hwan, director of the special police division set up to investigate the tragedy, said it was "difficult" to say that city officials, the national police and the interior ministry, which oversees South Korean police, had breached their duties.

But a grieving father told the BBC the report "cut off the lizard's tail to save the head".

A deadly crush on Oct. 29 killed 159 mostly young people partying in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in the center of the capital with narrow streets and alleys lined with bars and restaurants.

The bereaved victims' families and the South Korean public want high-level officials to be held accountable.

In December, South Korea's parliament passed a motion calling for the sacking of interior minister Lee Sang-min.

However, Mr Son said local government, police, fire departments and metro officials were among those with "legal responsibility to prevent and respond to disasters".

No precautions were taken before, and appropriate measures were not taken after an emergency call for help was received, the inspector said.

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Incorrect assessment of the situation leads to delays in conveying information and lack of cooperation among organizations, he added.

"Some of these overlapping failures have caused a large number of human casualties," he said quoting the BBC on Friday (13/1/2023).

A special investigation unit investigated 548 people and analyzed 180 videos from CCTV footage, social media and press materials.

The first call to police came at 6:34 p.m. local time - hours before the deadly explosion occurred - and there were at least 10 more emergency calls from the area over the next three and a half hours.

Records show that police only mobilized officers for four of these 11 calls warning them of dangerous levels of overcrowding.

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