S Korea Halloween crush: 'I was trapped on ledge, watching people die'

Survivors of the deadly Seoul Halloween crush person been speaking of their fearfulness astatine watching friends and strangers suffocate successful an alleyway arsenic creation euphony blared into the night.

At slightest 153 radical died erstwhile crowds of revellers thronged the Itaewon territory of South Korea's capital.

"People began pushing from behind, it was similar a question - determination was thing you could do," Nuhyil Ahammed told the BBC.

"I couldn't slumber past night. I tin inactive spot radical dying successful beforehand of me."

The 32-year-old, who spoke to the BBC connected Sunday afternoon, said helium was caught successful the crush and determination was thing anyone could person done to prevention others oregon themselves.

Distressing videos of the lawsuit person dispersed crossed societal media. Mr Ahammed himself shared his traumatising acquisition connected Instagram.

The footage shows people, mostly teens oregon successful their 20s, packed into a narrow, sloped alley truthful tightly they couldn't move. They past started being pushed successful each direction. Some were dragged to the floor. Others couldn't breathe.

Itaewon is 1 of the astir fashionable neighbourhoods successful Seoul for a nighttime out. Locals and foreigners flock determination each weekend, but Halloween is 1 of the busiest nights of the year. The country was hosting its archetypal unmasked Halloween celebrations since Covid erstwhile the catastrophe happened.

An estimated 100,000 radical came to observe determination connected Saturday. For the archetypal clip since Covid, gathering sizes were not constricted and radical did not request to deterioration masks outside.

But South Korea's Interior Minister Lee Sang-min said officials did not expect specified crowds successful Itaewon's constrictive streets.

"The expected size of the assemblage successful Itaewon did not deviate overmuch from the erstwhile years, truthful I recognize that the unit were deployed astatine a akin standard arsenic before."

He said galore officers had successful information been deployed elsewhere successful the superior connected Saturday evening.

"I americium not definite astir the nonstop fig of constabulary unit deployed [to Itaewon] but a sizeable fig had been deployed astatine Gwanghwamun wherever a ample assemblage was expected for a protest," helium told a briefing.

At slightest 82 radical were besides injured successful the disaster. Mr Lee said immoderate victims remained unidentified due to the fact that they were beneath the property of 17 oregon did not person an big ID.

President Yoon Suk-yeol has called for an probe into the origin of the crush and declared a play of nationalist mourning.

Mr Ahammed, an IT idiosyncratic from India who lives successful Seoul, said helium had attended the Halloween enactment present for the past 5 years.

Last twelvemonth determination were much constabulary successful the area, helium said, but this twelvemonth the assemblage was dissimilar thing helium had seen earlier but determination was "no assemblage control".

Mr Ahammed was determination with friends and said helium couldn't callback wherefore they wanted to participate the alley, but that it was a fashionable hangout for revellers successful costume.

But arsenic soon arsenic they got caught successful the crowd, helium knew thing was wrong.

"Even if you basal still, idiosyncratic pushes you from the beforehand and idiosyncratic from the back. It happened a fewer times. I realised thing was wrong. I felt acrophobic thing was going to happen."

He said helium fell but managed to marque his mode to steps on the broadside of the alley: "A women with angel's wings - she beckoned maine and I managed to ascent onto a precocious step," helium said.

"People were suffocating, screaming... getting squeezed... falling... determination were conscionable excessively galore people.

"I was connected the measurement conscionable watching everything happening. They don't cognize what to bash and thing we tin do."

He said helium felt helpless arsenic helium watched radical instrumentality what could person good been their past breaths. He was disquieted astir his friends and helium tried calling them but they did not answer. He would find retired hours aboriginal that they had managed to flight the crowd.

Mr Ahammed didn't afloat realise what had happened until the assemblage dispersed and the ambulances arrived. "They started pulling bodies from underneath," helium said. "One guy, helium knows his person is dormant but helium keeps giving him CPR for 30 mins."

Another person tried to halt him, Mr Ahammed recalled, but the young antheral wouldn't stop. Next to them, helium added, immoderate radical were inactive applying make-up similar thing had happened.

Slowly the existent grade of the catastrophe revealed itself. The ambulances were truthful afloat with the injured who needed to beryllium taken to infirmary that they near down the bodies of those who had died for up to an hour.

Later successful the night, bodies, immoderate successful Halloween costumes, were lined up on the thoroughfare covered successful bluish blankets. Others were carried lifeless into ambulances. Members of the nationalist desperately administered CPR to those who were lying unconscious, on with hundreds of exigency workers who were sent successful from astir the state to help.

On Sunday morning, relatives and friends of missing radical turned up astatine the country looking for clues to uncover whether their loved ones were there. But the bodies had been moved from the thoroughfare into a gymnasium, for household members to place them.

The assemblage centre is wherever the grief played retired done overmuch of Sunday. Relatives were arriving to find retired whether their loved 1 were among the known victims. Some broke down erstwhile they were told determination was nary accusation yet. Others were escorted retired due to the fact that they were excessively devastated and excessively anemic to walk.

One woman, who was looking for her 22-year-old lad Marcelo, was truthful distraught she could hardly talk. She said helium went to enactment past nighttime - astatine a nighttime nine successful Itaewon - and she hadn't heard from him since.

Altars for the victims person sprung up successful assorted places successful the capital.

The attraction volition inevitably displacement to the information standards and assemblage power measures successful spot astatine these occasions. But for now, South Korea is grieving the decease of truthful galore of its young.

Additional reporting by Won Jung Bae and Hosu Lee