A young Sydney woman has been identified as the victim of a horrifying Halloween crowd surge which killed at least 154 people in South Korea.
Grace Rached, 23, was killed on Saturday night when a Halloween party flooded a narrow alley in the night-life district of Seoul, causing a deadly crowd crush.
She was on holiday in South Korea with friends, including Nathan Taverniti, who took to TikTok in the hours after her death to share what he had witnessed.
“I was there when she said she couldn’t breathe and I grabbed one of my friends’ hands,” Taverniti said between tears.
As of Sunday evening, officials put the death toll at 154 and the number of injured people at 133.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said the death count could rise further, with 37 injured people in serious conditions.
Mr Taverniti said he believed the incident was avoidable and was a result of the local authorities not preparing adequately for the crowd.
“It was not a stampede, it was a slow, agonising crush,” he said.
“This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was lack of planning, police force and emergency services.
He said it took half an hour for police to arrive, another hour for reinforcements and even longer for other 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,” he said.
“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.
“We were yelling, we were saying “you have to go back, you have to turn around, people are dying”, but nobody was listening.
“There were people lying on the ground getting CPR, not by health professionals, by random people, whoever could.”
Two other friends who were with him that night are in a critical condition in hospital.
“I am sad. I am devastated by the situation, which could have so easily been avoided, but nobody would listen.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the tragedy has impacted Ms Rached’s family in the harshest way possible.
“These were people who were out celebrating Halloween, out to have a good time and to come home safely,” he said.
“This tragedy has impacted people in South Korea in particular. But it has also impacted, in the harshest way possible, one Australian family and other Australians who were hurt in this incident.
“We just wish all of those people a very speedy recovery.”
