Despite expecting a high turnout for the Halloween festivities, an Australian witness to the mob crush that killed more than 150 partygoers in Seoul, South Korea, blasted officials for failing to use adequate crowd controls.
Following the catastrophe that occurred Saturday in Itaewon’s nightlife zone, Nathan Taverniti, 24, said he is still struggling with emotional shock.
One of his friends died in the incident.
The catastrophe occurred in a small, downward alley connecting the historic Hamilton Hotel to a long row of busy storefronts.
According to witnesses, the path was congested by a big wave of partygoers before some fell and knocked one another down like dominoes before succumbing to their injuries.
Throughout the weekend, an estimated 100,000 revelers descended on Itaewon for Halloween celebrations, and some authorities claim it should have been evident for them to temporarily down portions of the area’s infamously winding streets and slopes.
“If the government knows that there were going to be that many people there, and there is going to be road blockages, there should be enough police and emergency services already on standby,” Taverniti said.
Taverniti claimed that because so many people surrounded him, he didn’t anticipate anything wrong happening until several women close appeared to slip and fall, and adjacent individuals attempted to help them get back up.
He could no longer see his three friends at that point.
He claimed that he believed he spotted the hands of several of his pals among the crowding individuals.
The massive weight of the other people, who were losing their equilibrium, crushed him as he attempted to grip them, forcing him to release them.
He reported hearing “a lot of yelling.”
Taverniti claimed that he yelled at the bars and clubs to open their doors so that some individuals may enter to thin out the crowd but that no one paid attention.
He claimed that within a short period, several police officers arrived, and before further police officers arrived, members of the crowd assisted in removing the injured.
Later, among the rows of unresponsive bodies spread out on the pavement, he discovered one of his buddies.
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