An Aussie in South Korea has recalled the horror of escaping the crowd crush that killed more than 150 people during Halloween festivities in Itaewon, Seoul.
Nathan Taverniti, a 23-year-old from Sydney, said he and three friends were at the front of the crowd of 100,000 when people started “coming in from both sides.”
“I turned around and told the crowd, you can’t come this way, people are dying, because I already knew how bad it was and people were being so rude, and I had to tell them you can’t come this way,” he told the Telegraph, London.
In a video posted on TikTok, Taverniti said he lost sight of his friends and had to crawl from the crowd to later discover that two of his friends were in hospital and the third had died.
https://www.tiktok.com/@taeveniti/video/7160234040509975810
“It was my friend’s 24th birthday in 12 days, I was there when she said she couldn’t breathe, I grabbed one of my friend’s hands,” Taverniti said in the video.
Taverniti said he had spent “hours and hours” searching for his friend’s body.
“There was no stampede. It was a slow and agonising crush. This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was lack of planning, police force and emergency services. Nobody was willing to help.
“I watched as people filmed and sang and laughed while my friends were dying along with many other people.”
Taverniti reported watching as bystanders performed CPR on unresponsive people lying on the ground while they waited for emergency crews to arrive. He said that the situation could have “so easily been avoided.”
Witnesses reported that the crowd surge caused a “hell-like” situation where people collapsed on one another “like dominoes.” The streets were reportedly so clogged with people and slow-moving vehicles that it was very difficult for ambulances and emergency workers to make their way to the alley.
Smartraveller released a warning to Aussies in Korea, encouraging them to check in with friends and family to let them know their whereabouts. The website said that South Korea’s president Yoon has announced a period of national mourning.
Featured Image: Police tape at site of the crowd crush (EuroNews)
