"Cry of 'Someone collapsed'... Korail employees save an 80-year-old"

Passenger with Fish Cake Stuck in Throat Receives 'Heimlich Maneuver'

Employees of Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) provided emergency aid to a customer who collapsed after choking on food, saving their life.

KORAIL employees promptly responding to an emergency patient with food stuck in the throat. [Image source=Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL)]

According to KORAIL on the 8th, at around 1 p.m. on the 5th, someone urgently shouted, "A person has collapsed, please help," at Deokso Station on the Gyeongui-Jungang Line.

The sound came from a snack shop inside the station's waiting area. An elderly person in their 80s had lost consciousness and collapsed after choking on fish cake while eating at the shop.

Yoon Mi-kyung (42), Deputy Station Manager of Deokso Station, and Jung Na-ra (30), a station staff member, rushed to the scene, checked the customer whose face had turned blue, and immediately performed the Heimlich maneuver to clear the airway by applying chest compressions.

Intern employee Noh Seo-hyun, who also responded, promptly called 119, and other staff members guided the paramedics to quickly access the scene.

Soon after Deputy Manager Yoon and staff member Jung administered emergency aid, the customer expelled the foreign object and gradually regained breathing and consciousness. The customer was safely handed over to the arriving emergency medical team.

The 119 rescue team reported that the customer's condition improved due to the correct emergency treatment within the golden hour, and they returned home without needing further hospital care.

Customers who witnessed the emergency posted messages of appreciation through "praise complaints," saying, "I used to ride the train without much thought, but today I realized that station staff can help save lives," and "The Deokso Station staff worked very hard," which brought this incident to public attention.

Staff member Jung was reported to have calmly responded by recalling the training they had received.

Deputy Manager Yoon said, "Although I worried whether the person would wake up due to their pale complexion, I hoped their life would be unharmed and did not stop the emergency treatment," adding, "This was possible because of working together with the staff."

KORAIL plans to award the two employees with the President's Commendation for their swift and proactive response in protecting a citizen.

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