韩国首尔-韩国国家警察周一道歉，称他们只部署了137名警察来应对首尔梨泰院庆祝万圣节的大约10万名狂欢者，至少有154人在拥挤的人群中丧生。

“预计会有大量的人聚集在那里。但我们没想到会因为很多人聚集而发生大规模伤亡，”警察厅公共秩序管理局局长洪基贤周一表示。

拥挤始于周六晚上，人群穿过梨泰院狭窄的小巷。教育部周一表示，154名遇难者中包括一名中学生和五名高中生。官员称，死者中至少有19名外国人，包括两名美国人。

目击者称，梨泰院的街道非常拥挤，急救人员和救护车几乎不可能到达现场附近的小巷。

警方周日表示，大约有200名警察在附近，但在周一修正了这一数字，因为越来越多的人批评官员是否可以阻止这一事件。

洪说，警方没有针对没有明确组织者的大规模人群聚集情况的手册。

周一，成队的市民和政治家聚集在三个不同的地点表达他们的敬意。官方纪念祭坛设立在两个地方，一个在梨泰院的事故现场附近，另一个在首尔市中心的市政厅前。

“这都是成年人的错，如果准备得当，我们本可以避免这一切，”61岁的李成浩流着泪告诉ABC新闻。

更多:首尔人群拥挤后，韩国总统宣布全国哀悼期

“我睡不着，所以我必须做点什么，”他一边说，一边放上一朵白菊花和一封他连夜写的信。

18岁的高三学生卢卡·伊格纳特告诉美国广播公司新闻说:“我想看看舍利，认为我在这里表达敬意是很重要的。”

伊格纳特说他在人群拥挤几分钟后就到了现场。

“许多人仍在狂欢大笑。然后我看到了尸体，警察来了。警官们在尖叫。然后我检查了手机，然后我知道我所看到的是真实的，”他说。“这让我很生气。”

South Korean police apologize after deadly Halloween crowd crush

SEOUL, South Korea -- South Korea's national police apologized on Monday, saying they'd only deployed 137 officers to handle a crowd of about 100,000 revelers who were celebrating Halloween in Itaewon, the Seoul neighborhood where at least 154 people were killed in a crowd crush.

"It was foreseen that a large number of people would gather there. But we didn't expect that large scale casualties would occur due to the gathering of many people," Hong Ki-hyun, chief of the National Police Agency's Public Order Management Bureau, said on Monday.

The crush began on Saturday night, as crowds moved through Itaewon's narrow alleys. One middle schooler and five high school students were among the 154 victims killed, the Education Ministry said on Monday. At least 19 foreigners were among the dead, including two Americans, officials said.

Witnesses said Itaewon's streets were so densely clogged that it was practically impossible for emergency workers and ambulances to reach the alley near the site.

Police on Sunday said about 200 officers had been in the neighborhood, but revised that figure on Monday amid growing criticism over whether officials could have prevented the incident.

Hong said police don't have manuals for large crowd gathering situations without a clear organizer.

Lines of citizens, and politicians, are gathering in three different locations to pay their respects on Monday. Official memorial altars were set up in two locations -- one near the incident site in Itaewon, and the other in the center of Seoul in front of the City Hall.

"I couldn't sleep so I had to do something," he said, placing a white chrysanthemum and a letter he wrote overnight.

"I wanted to see the shirine and thought it would be important that I be here to pay respect," high school senior Luca Ignat, 18 years old, told ABC News.

Ignat said he was at the scene minutes after the crowd crush.

"Lot of people were still partying and laughing. Then I saw bodies, police came. Officers were screaming. Then I checked the phone, then I knew what I was seeing was real," he said. "It made me angry."