Comment TOKYO — Desperate calls for help came as early as 6:34 p.m., several hours before unconscious bodies were to line the main street of Seoul’s Itaewon district after a huge crowd surge. “There’s a lot of people going up and down that alley, I’m really nervous about it,” the caller said. “I think people can be crushed. I barely escaped, but the crowd is too much. I think you should intervene.” Over the next few hours, more people would arrive in the same alley and the attendees would be packed to the point where they couldn’t even move their fingers and toes. At least 156 people died and at least 157 were injured in the country’s deadliest incident in years. South Korea admits police crowd control was ‘inadequate’ before crash Transcripts of about 11 emergency call logs released Tuesday show growing desperation and repeated warnings from bystanders for at least four hours before the crash turned deadly. They called emergency personnel to intervene and control the crowd. At 8:09 p.m., an operator gave detailed instructions as to where the crowd was gathering. “There are so many people here. … It ‘s crazy. People are getting hurt.” At 9 p.m.: “There are too many people. A major accident is about to happen at any moment. Everyone is under pressure. You have to come check out this crowd.” At 9:51 p.m.: “There are so many people, I think there should be crowd control. … If possible, can you hurry? … It feels very dangerous right now.” At 10:11 p.m.: “Here, we’re about to crack. It’s a mess… [audible screams]. In Itaewon, on the back street. In Itaewon, on the back street.” Emergency personnel flooded the alley at about 11 p.m., according to video witnesses. South Korean media reported that because the area was so congested, it took responders longer than expected to reach the crash site. Transcripts reflect the chaos of that scene and confirm some accounts that the area was alarmingly crowded from early in the evening. Many attendees and members of the public criticized the lack of police presence in the area. South Korea is dealing with the trauma of the Halloween crowd South Korea’s police chief, Yoon Hee-geun, said on Tuesday that crowd control was “inadequate” in the Itaewon area where the crash occurred. About 100,000 people were expected per night in this neighborhood on Halloween weekend. There were just 137 local police officers sent to the area – about one for every 730 people – whose primary role was to focus on petty crime, drugs and sexual and physical abuse. Yun said in his briefing that there were emergency calls from the area before the crash, warning of the large number of people gathered in the narrow alley where the wave later occurred. Independent investigators within the agency are determining whether the response to those calls was adequate, he said.
