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South Korea Halloween crush: The lost belongings in pictures

Getty Images Image of dozens of shoes from victims of Seoul Stampede.Getty Images
There are 256 pairs of shoes waiting for collection in the hall

The items are laid out neatly in the almost silent sports hall: designer handbags, well-worn trainers, headphones still nestled in their cases.

They are some of the possessions left behind as people desperately tried to escape the crush which took the lives of more than 150 Halloween revellers in a Seoul neighbourhood on Saturday.

The Wonhyoro sports centre - usually home to volleyball games and community events - has already played a part in this tragedy: it is here that rescuers brought the bodies in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

But now - just days later - survivors and victims' families have been invited into the hall, so they can pick out items that belonged to them or their loved ones.

On Tuesday, a couple came into the vast, echoey hall and picked up a black jacket. A group of girls walked in and took a pair of white heeled boots, covered in dirt.

The mood was calm and pensive as people surveyed the large rectangles of cloth and plastic picnic tables with their dirtied and crushed items - a grim reminder of the high number of tragic deaths and injured.

Getty Images Security officer overlooking belongings of victims in Seoul GymGetty Images
Families and survivors have been asked to come to the hall to collect their belongings
BBC/Danny Bull Items spread out in the sports hallBBC/Danny Bull
Trainers, handbags and passports are among the items rescued from the scene of the disaster
Getty Images Image of victims smart watches.Getty Images
The items have been carefully labelled
Getty Images Close up of victims passports, earphones and belongings.Getty Images
There are around 20 pairs of Apple headphones alone, an AFP news agency reporter says
Getty Images Close up of women's bags and pursesGetty Images
About 1.5 tonnes of items were collected from the scene in Seoul
BBC/Danny Bull A group of survivors or relatives of victims pick out items that belonged to them or their loved onesBBC/Danny Bull
Survivors and relatives of victims can pick out possessions that belonged to them or their loved ones
BBC/Danny Bull Clothes belonging to victims of the crushBBC/Danny Bull
Some of the clothing recovered by police is dirty
EPA Glasses collected from the scene of an stampede, at a multi-purpose gym in Seoul, South Korea, 01 November 2022.EPA
Many of the items have been damaged
EPA Police officers check clothes collected from the scene of an stampede, at a multi-purpose gym in Seoul, South Korea,EPA
A police officer said they collected as many belongings as possible "in case they belonged to victims"
Getty Images Man looking through abandoned belongings in Seoul Gym.Getty Images
One police officer told news agency Reuters few had come to collect their belongings so far