[ti:South Korea Investigates Crowd Surge, India Looks into Bridge Collapse] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]India and South Korea are mourning and searching for answers [00:05.52]after weekend disasters that left hundreds of people killed. [00:11.00]Saturday, more than 150 people were crushed to death [00:14.96]at a crowded Halloween celebration in Seoul. [00:18.36]The next day, a bridge collapse in India killed at least 133 people. [00:26.08]The South Korean disaster took place [00:28.60]in the narrow roads of Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood. [00:32.88]The area has many places for drinking, dancing and other nightlife. [00:38.76]Tens of thousands of people flooded into Itaewon Saturday. [00:43.84]Witnesses and survivors remembered a "hell-like" chaos [00:48.52]when the crowd surged and people began to fall as they tried to escape. [00:54.28]The witnesses said the entire Itaewon area [00:57.68]was very crowded with vehicles and people. [01:00.84]This made it very difficult for rescuers to get to those in need. [01:06.80]Police said they have created a 475-member group to investigate the crush. [01:14.80]Officers have received videos taken by security cameras [01:19.92]in the area and are looking at video clips posted on social media. [01:23.88]The police told reporters that officers [01:26.88]have interviewed more than 40 witnesses so far. [01:31.64]Other police officers said they are trying to find exactly [01:35.64]when and where the crowd surge started and how it got worse. [01:40.56]They said a team of police officers searched the Itaewon area on Monday. [01:47.80]"The government will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident [01:51.68]and do its best to make necessary improvements of systems [01:55.96]to prevent a similar accident," South Korean Prime Minister [02:00.20]Han Duck-soo said at a government meeting about the disaster. [02:06.24]Some witnesses said the surge was caused by people [02:09.64]in the upper part of the road pushing others farther down the hill. [02:15.04]Local media also questioned an apparent lack of safety preparations [02:19.52]for the large crowd expected to gather in Itaewon. [02:24.28]Seoul police deployed 137 officers to control the large crowd. [02:31.80]As of Monday morning, the government [02:33.88]said it had identified 153 of the 154 dead. [02:38.88]It said 149 other people are injured, 33 of them seriously. [02:46.16]The bridge that collapsed Sunday in the Indian town [02:49.36]of Morbi, Gujarat state, was 143 years old. [02:54.32]Officials are still searching for possible victims. [02:57.88]Police said Monday they had arrested nine people [03:01.72]in connection with the event. [03:04.96]The bridge was built by the British in the late 1800s [03:08.84]and was called an "engineering marvel." [03:11.48]It had been closed for repair work [03:13.68]for several months earlier this year. [03:16.80]It reopened four days before the collapse. [03:20.24]Indian Inspector-General Ashok Yadav [03:24.60]said police have formed a special investigative team. [03:28.96]He said it had arrested employees of the bridge's operator, Oreva Group. [03:35.16]"We won't let the guilty get away, [03:37.52]we won't spare anyone," Yadav said. [03:41.36]Gujarat authorities opened a case against Oreva [03:44.72]for suspected culpable homicide, [03:47.04]attempted culpable homicide and other violations. [03:51.84]The company had reopened the bridge, [03:54.36]which crosses a wide part of the Machchhu river, on October 26. [03:59.76]That is the first day of the Gujarati New Year, [04:03.80]which falls during the Hindu festival season. [04:07.52]The newly reopened bridge drew hundreds of people. [04:11.56]A Morbi city official, told the Indian Express newspaper [04:16.28]the company had reopened the bridge [04:18.56]without first getting a "fitness certificate." [04:21.76]That claim could not be independently confirmed. [04:26.76]Officials said the structure collapsed [04:29.36]under the weight of hundreds of people. [04:32.44]Security camera videos showed the bridge shaking violently [04:36.92]and people trying to hold on to its cables. [04:40.72]Then the walkway gave way and crashed into the river. [04:45.08]State minister Harsh Sanghvi [04:48.64]told reporters that 133 people were confirmed dead [04:52.76]and many others were admitted to hospitals in serious condition. [04:57.80]Rescue teams worked overnight to search for survivors. [05:03.04]It was not clear exactly how many people were on the bridge [05:06.68]when it collapsed. [05:07.96]But survivors said it was so crowded [05:10.96]that people were unable to quickly move to safety [05:14.00]when its cables began to break. [05:17.00]A Gujarat state government election is expected in coming months. [05:21.44]Opposition parties have demanded an investigation into the collapse. [05:27.72]Asia has seen three major disasters involving large crowds in a month. [05:33.72]In Indonesia, 132 people were killed [05:37.32]after police fired tear gas at a crowd [05:40.52]during a soccer match October 1. [05:43.00]It caused a surge as people tried to flee. [05:46.72]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM