[Itaewon Tragedy] Crowded and Confined Space, Increased Pressure... Expert Says "No Prevention Method" Why?

Itaewon Tragedy Shows Textbook Responses Like Linking Arms Are Useless
Expert: "Do Not Enter Through Exit When Crowds Gather"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byun Seon-jin] The cause of the Halloween crush accident that occurred on the night of the 29th in Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which led to a large-scale loss of life, has been identified as "compressive asphyxia." Tens of thousands of people crowded into a narrow downhill space about 4 meters wide?just enough for 5 to 6 adults to pass through?and 45 meters long, unable to move for 20 to 30 minutes, which maximized the pressure exerted. The way to prevent crush accidents in crowded places is to create as much space as possible by crossing arms to expand the chest area, but fire and emergency experts pointed out that "this would have been useless in the Itaewon tragedy."

Pressure Increases Even with Slight Force in Narrow Spaces

Professor Jung Chang-sam of the Department of Smart Construction Disaster Prevention at Induk University stated, "In a crowded narrow space, even a weak pushing force increases pressure." Pressure refers to the force exerted vertically per unit area. If the area is small, even a weak force results in high pressure. Experimental results show that when 100 people weighing 65 kg each are pushed simultaneously, the pressure can reach up to 18 tons.

Another issue was that the trapped crowd was compressed from all sides, leaving no room for lung expansion. Professor Jung explained, "In situations where even minimal space is not secured, muscle consumption increases to breathe oxygen, and if this process continues for 20 to 30 minutes, the damage inevitably worsens." He added, "If the crowd in the Itaewon tragedy had moved in one direction, the damage might have been less, but since everyone moved in different directions, congestion occurred. In crowded places, evacuation routes should be avoided at all costs," he advised.

There is also an analysis that the "domino effect" caused by falling in the downhill space was maximized. Professor Song Chang-young of the Department of Disaster Safety at Gwangju University said, "The accident site was on a slope, and even if people did not actually fall, the effect would be the same as if they had fallen and were under pressure." He added, "Unless emergency rescue personnel and vehicles were pre-positioned in anticipation of the accident, there was practically no way for individuals to prevent the accident in a situation like the Itaewon tragedy." Professor Song evaluated, "National disaster safety is a proactive welfare and administration. If it was predicted that many people would gather in a limited space, control of citizen and vehicle movement should have been enforced, but the lack of this is regrettable."

The 'Golden Time' to Save Lives... Difficult to Maintain in the Itaewon Tragedy

The golden time for compressive asphyxia is only 3 to 4 minutes, so cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) must be performed quickly. After checking the victim's response, if unconscious, the priority is to tilt the head back to secure the airway. Then, find the chest compression point with the palms of interlocked hands and press 30 times at a depth of 5 cm at a rate of 100 to 120 times per minute, followed by 2 rescue breaths. This cycle should be repeated until rescuers arrive.

However, at the scene, it was pointed out that CPR was not performed promptly because rescue personnel such as firefighters and police had difficulty extracting victims from the densely packed crowd. With more than 300 patients suffering from cardiac arrest or respiratory distress that could lead to brain death or death, the number of paramedics capable of emergency treatment was severely insufficient.

Government: "Formed Itaewon Accident Response Headquarters to Swiftly Manage the Accident"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the night of the 30th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued a press release stating, "We have formed the Itaewon Accident Response Headquarters to swiftly manage the accident and provide medical, psychological, and funeral support to the injured and bereaved families." Through the Itaewon Accident Response Headquarters, they plan to report the status and measures at least twice a day and organize response personnel to manage the situation 24 hours without gaps. This includes tailored medical support for severely and mildly injured patients, smooth funeral support for the deceased, and psychological support through the establishment of a psychological support team within the National Trauma Center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.