Now the narrow alleyways of Itaewon are linked to a tragic, massive crowd-crushing event where more than 150 people died and more than 100 were injured while trying to enjoy Halloween celebrations. Itaewon is a popular shopping destination for Halloween and is packed with bars, clubs and restaurants that opened their doors for the first mask-free celebration in two years. Thousands entered the district and by 10pm the narrow streets were packed. Several videos posted on social media platforms from the scene during the crowd crush show people pressed tightly against each other with no room to move. Witnesses told The Associated Press that the crowd quickly turned chaotic and deadly as people were trapped for 40 minutes. In some places, people fell over each other and ended up stacked like dominoes. Emergency workers were overwhelmed by the number of bodies being recovered and were calling on the crowd to help administer CPR, witness Ken Fallas told the AP. Officials in South Korea admitted fault and apologized on Tuesday. An initial police investigation found that police did not respond effectively to phone calls for help, the AP reported Tuesday. Experts who have studied public safety and the issue of crowd crushes for decades say many factors contribute to events going horribly wrong like in Itaewon, and there is much that could have been done in advance to prevent such a disaster. CTVNews.ca spoke with several academics whose research focuses on crowd crashes and explosions about what went wrong at Itaewon, how to manage crowds safely and how to protect yourself.
WHAT IS CROWD CRUSH AND WHAT HAPPENED AT ITAEWON?
A crowd crash can occur when there is massive overcrowding and the density increases to the point where it is almost impossible to get out, said G Keith Still, a visiting professor of crowd science at the University of Suffolk in England. “A drop in high density can have these devastating effects,” Steele said. Injuries in overcrowding incidents are not entirely uncommon, they can sometimes become more extreme, such as in Itaewon, he said. “Unfortunately for some people, the first time they experience [a crowd crush], it’s too late to do anything about it. It’s not about the number of people, it’s about exposure to high density,” he explained. Still said that if asked to make a risk assessment of Itaewon, he would immediately say “there is a finite number of people that can fit in this space.” The issue with Itaewon’s popularity in this case is that the area is made up of narrow streets and alleyways that connect, providing little space for what has become a huge number of people, said Ali Asgary, a professor at York University and a disaster expert. . emergency and business continuity management. “There was no event management there or crowd management system. It all led to this unfortunate event,” he said.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE FIRST?
The risk assessment will include looking at the venue, seeing the routes people may take and understanding who is attending the event and their motivations, then implementing countermeasures to avoid crowd crashes, Still said. “The way I liken it is to a tachometer in a car. There is a red line. If you rev the engine over the redline, it will explode. It’s the same with crowd density – you have to keep the crowd under that density to keep it moving,” he said. Gil Fried, a professor at the University of West Florida in the department of management and law, said the first thing that jumped out at him about Itaewon was how the area looks and how the alleys are surrounded by walls. “Barricades or anything that restricts people and pins them down, that’s going to be a concern,” he said. Another issue, outlined during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday by President Yoon Suk-yeol, is that South Korea lacks the resources to manage the crowds. Police told reporters that only 137 officers were in the area that night when 100,000 people arrived to celebrate Halloween. Although there were more officers than in 2017 to 2019, when only 34 to 90 officers were assigned to the area, police acknowledged that the officers were assigned to deal primarily with crime and drug use, not crowd control . In addition to the number of police officers deployed in the area, specially trained experts should have been involved, experts say. According to the US National Fire Protection Association, an event requires one trained crowd manager per 250 people, Fried said. “Police officers are not necessarily trained to deal with crowds,” he said. Police may know what to do when a crowd gets out of control, but not what to do proactively to minimize the potential for crowd crush concerns, he said. At least 400 trained crowd personnel should have been in Itaewon, Fried said. Other factors that affect the strategy are the weather, whether there is water in the area and whether the crowd may be drinking or under the influence of drugs, he explained. “When you have people funneled into these narrow alleys, that’s a recipe for disaster, because you want as much space as possible,” he said. The area must be monitored and staff must prevent more people from entering until the situation is addressed, Steele said. “This happens all the time in the Christmas markets… it’s very simple to set up, but only if you understand the risk. That’s the problem here, they didn’t see the problem before it happened,” he said. Crowd movements can be controlled to ensure there is enough space for emergency services to reach people at any time, Asghari said. “It could have helped a lot, although if I was there and I was thinking about having such a large number of people in that area, I wouldn’t even advise it,” he said. “But if people want to use this space … the numbers will have to come down,” he said.
HOW CAN A CROWD CAUSE DEATH?
The majority of crowd crush deaths are due to lack of oxygen rather than injury, Asghari said. “That’s not something because your leg is broken, it’s because of the pressure that causes damage to your internal organs that can’t function with blood circulation or oxygen circulation,” he said. Experiencing horizontal and vertical pressure, where people press from the sides and front and back, along with one on top of the other, makes breathing difficult, he explained. “It may not show signs of injury from the outside, but it is the pressures from the internal organs that cause this condition,” he said. “But if you get smashed against a wall, you’re going to face injuries from the outside as well,” he said. Crush injuries, where multiple people end up on top of each other, create a significant amount of force that can damage a body, Fried said. He said he has worked on cases where metal rails have been twisted by a crowd crash – indicating a significant amount of force had pushed a person into the railing. That would take more than 1,000 pounds per square inch, he said. “It’s like drowning. You can’t do anything if there are three or four people on top of you, there’s this sense of hopelessness,” he said.
HOW CAN YOU SURVIVE A CROWD CRUSH?
While there may be a certain point where it’s impossible to escape the crush of the crowd, Fried recommends “situational awareness,” which is being aware of your surroundings at all times. “Understand what’s going on and try to take steps that will minimize the possibility … knowing where your exits are, if there’s a general consensus, don’t go forward,” he said. “One of the things we always tell people is to always carry water. You could get stuck there and there are a lot of cases of dehydration,” Fried said. He recommended that someone stuck in a crowd see if they can stabilize and move with the movement of the crowd, because in those situations, what happens is people become like “fluids,” Asghari said. “We will no longer be able to control ourselves, we follow with others and move with them. If we start pushing or pressing, it’s not going to help. We just need to relax and calm down.” He said those involved should do everything they can to conserve oxygen and protect the parts of the body that are important for breathing, and focus on breathing, rather than pushing.
WHAT ARE SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CROWD PACKING?
With crowds crashing, sometimes the blame is placed on the crowd rather than the organizers and government agencies that are supposed to provide a safe environment, Steele said. “It is not for members of the public to review the security plan,” he said. “When you go to a nightclub or a night economy, it’s a duty of care to the people who manage to provide a safe environment,” Still said. There are no “batteries” in cases like these, no one runs, Steele said. “No one in this crowd went in with the intention of reacting that way,” he said. “They wouldn’t cause trouble or damage, but they would react to the situation they found themselves in.”
