Ang mga saksi sa malagim na insidente na nangyari sa pagdiriwang ng Halloween sa Itaewon District sa Seoul, South Korea, noong Sabado ng gabi, October 29, 2022 ang nagpapatunay na "crush" at hindi stampede ang dahilan ng pagkamatay ng mahigit sa 150 katao at marami ang sugatan.
Read: Halloween party in Itaewon, South Korea turns into a tragedy; at least 149 died
Dalawa sa mga kaibigan ng Australian national na si Nathan Taverniti ang nasa kritikal na kundisyon at isa ang namatay nang maipit sa Halloween crush na naganap sa makitid na kalsada ng Itaewon District.
Lumuluhang ikinuwento ni Taverniti ang mga huling sandali ng kanyang kaibigan na si Grace Rached, na magdiriwang sana ng ika-24 kaarawan sa susunod na linggo.
"Audrey Hepburn" ang karakter ni Grace nang pumunta sila ng kanyang mga kaibigan sa Itaewon District para sa Halloween party.
Saksi si Taverniti nang sabihin ni Grace na hindi ito makahinga dahil naiipit na sila ng napakaraming tao na nagsisiksikan.
Matagal na naghanap si Taverniti bago nito natagpuan ang walang buhay na katawan ni Grace.
Ang South Korean Police ang kanyang sinisisi dahil umano sa kakulangan ng paghahanda sa okasyon na dinaluhan ng mahigit sa 100,000 katao.
"It was a slow, agonizing crush. This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was lack of planning, police force and emergency services.
"And nobody was willing to help. I watched as people filmed and sang and laughed while my friends were dying, along with many other people.
"I was there trying to pull people out because there was not enough police officers and nobody was doing anything to make the crowd stop," madamdamin at nakapanghihilakbot na kuwento ni Taverniti, sa pamamagitan ng TikTok, tungkol sa naganap na trahedya.
Read: “Produce 101” Season 2 contestant Lee Ji Han among 154 dead in Itaewon Halloween tragedy
YOON HONG-BIN
Hindi nag-iisa si Taverniti dahil pinuna rin ng Korean actor na si Yoon Hong-bin ang mga pagkukulang ng South Korean Police.
Ibinahagi ni Yoon Hong-bin ang kanyang personal na karanasan dahil kabilang siya sa mga nagbigay ng cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) sa mga biktima ng Halloween crush.
Pahayag ni Yoon Hong-bin sa kanyang social media post (as translated by Korean news websites): "Some people were shouting not to push while the others were shouting to push. The police were only on the main street and people were crowded without any order at the back on the international cuisine street. I went outside to smoke and I saw people being rushed to the ambulance.
“Many more were being transported so the officers were performing CPR on the street because they couldn't possibly take everyone on ambulances.
"I could hear people pleading with their loved ones to open their eyes while performing CPR but only one person was resuscitated on that street where I was performing CPR. I also couldn't bring the person I was helping.
“This tragedy had early signs and was entirely preventable. I know how hard the police are working but it's a shame that no one thought to dispatch them in the middle to guide people to walk from one side."
At press time, labingsiyam (19) na dayuhan mula sa Australia, Thailand, China, Norway, at Iran ang kasama sa mga nasawi sa Itaewon District tragedy na dahilan para magdeklara ng national mourning period si South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol.
Itinalaga rin niya na isang disaster zone ang Itaewon District dahil sa malagim na pangyayari.