A Canadian living in Seoul claims he has had difficulties sleeping ever since seeing tens of thousands of people cram into narrow streets and alleys on Saturday, causing more than 150 people to be crushed to death.
Matthew Clement claimed that he avoided Itaewon’s most congested streets on Halloween after encountering life-threateningly crowded conditions in prior years.
I’ve experienced overwhelm in the past.
It’s terrible,” he remarked in a Seoul-based interview. To even control your movements or to even move was really difficult. ”
He is among many trying to make sense of the fatal stampede that South Korean officials have said killed 156 in the capital city.
The National Police Agency of South Korea has admitted that after receiving at least 11 emergency calls from pedestrians warning about a growing mass of Halloween revellers becoming out of control before the crush, Seoul police did nothing for hours.
Despite having only recently left the area, Clement has lived in Itaewon for the past 18 years since arriving in South Korea 20 years ago to teach English. He returned on Halloween to perform two DJ sets.
He compared the atmosphere to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, saying that Itaewon seems to draw a larger Halloween crowd every year, with the streets serving as just as much of a party venue as the bars.
It’s practically become a destination for younger folks, university students, and others to dress up as for Halloween and have a great time. Its size has grown dramatically over the past five to ten years, he claimed.
Around 7:30 p.m., Clement came.
to DJ at a tiny lounge and was shocked to realise that even the tiniest streets, which had been deserted in years past, were now crowded with people. He claimed it was already “pandemonium” when his act ended at 9 p.m.
He performed a second set at a different location, and as he was finishing up, he stood on a rooftop and observed an ambulance drive by on the street below.
“We observed it, followed by another and another. And I believe we saw at least 20 ambulances speeding by,” he added.
He claimed that he attempted to call someone but was unsuccessful, presuming that everyone’s simultaneous calls had clogged the phone and internet networks.
As rumours about what was happening spread, Clement said that his intuition had been correct.
Although he admitted that “what I suspected happened did happen,” he added, “I could never have believed it would have been this horrible.”
Clement claimed to have witnessed police speeding by and spoken to individuals who claimed to have seen numerous bodies on the ground.
Finally, he said that he left the neighbourhood on foot and made arrangements for his wife to pick him up. There were many others who followed suit because the subway system had already closed.
He noted that the tone was odd, with some people understanding the gravity of what had occurred while others were unaware.
“You know, you can see people who had physically been there, who had to walk through that area, and you can see people who were traumatised,” he said. “Half the people were devastated.”
On the other hand, I believe that some individuals were unaware of the truth.
Clement, an English and business professor at a university, claimed to have heard of a few acquaintances who perished in the crowd.
He admitted, “I’ve been extremely emotional. “This is my community and my home. These people represent my friends, my students, my neighbours,” he said, adding the predominant feeling is sadness.
There is also a small amount of rage present because this shouldn’t have happened. The police were aware of the approaching crowd. Both of us and they required their protection.
— accompanied by a document from The Associated Press.
A Canadian remembers “pandemonium” after the tragic stampede in South Korea
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