Aussie Tourist Whose Pal Died Blames Authorities for ‘Slow, Agonizing Crush’ in South Korea

A 23-year-old Australian who flew to Seoul to celebrate Halloween in the capital’s famed nightlife district says he has two friends in critical condition and another dead after a crowd surge crushed more than 150 people to death Saturday night. “I was there when she said she couldn’t breathe and I grabbed one of my friends’ hands,” Nathan Taverniti said in a since-deleted TikTok. “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.” Taverniti blamed the death toll on local authorities. “This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was lack of planning [by the] police force and emergency services,” he said. The deadly crush occured when some 100,000 partygoers were squeezed into Itaewon’s tight alleyways. “There was not enough police officers and nobody was doing anything to make the crowd stop,” Taverniti said. “We were yelling, we were saying, ‘You have to go back, you have to turn around, people are dying’, but nobody was listening.” He said it took more than an hour for enough police to arrive on the scene.