Amidst the mourning after the Itaewon tragedy, investigations were launched to find the cause of the heartbreaking accident that caused many young lives to be lost. Of course, it is nearly impossible to prevent all tragedies, but there are times when they can be avoided.
It has been two and a half days since the tragedy, and the South Korean government has begun investigating the cause of the horrific accident. The police immediately started an investigation after the incident area was cleared to find the cause of the incident. They have collected surveillance footage from nearby stores and streets along with videos from social media to reconstruct the scene.
One live stream of a female AfreecaTV BJ (streamer) revealed the shocking news that the streamer notified the police of the crowd surge and even warned that she felt an accident was going to occur.
This streamer was in Itaewon to celebrate Halloween and live-streamed her visit. Approximately one hour before the incident, the streamer realized that someone had taken her purse while walking through the crowd. That is when she decided to go to the nearest police station to file a complaint.
During that time, the streamer is seen telling the police about the large crowd in Itaewon and even warns that there is an accident waiting to happen, and people are going to get hurt if the police do not control the foot traffic. She explained, "I lost my purse while I was walking. Is there no way I can find it? There are so many people I feel that there is going to be an accident. I went halfway in (to the Itaewon alley) and got pushed out by the crowd."
The police told the female streamer, "There are too many people, so it's going to be hard to find it (the purse). I think you have to wait until someone hands it in as a lost item in the morning." The streamer then agreed to wait until the next day but told the police, "I think that area needs to be controlled. People are pushing, so I think there will be people getting hurt in the middle." However, the police only responded by saying, "It's hard for us to go there right now."
After leaving the police station, the female BJ shared with her viewers, "I can't do a live broadcast in Itaewon. You'll get crushed to death here or get squished to death." She continued to share, "I can't take photos here. I almost fell down a few times. People just push you from behind."
An hour later, the tragic Itaewon stampede incident occurred.
After the accident, the government and police have been criticized for the lack of foot traffic control in the area. Although police were allocated in Itaewon, they only focused on controlling traffic and preventing people from going on the street where the cars were.
She used common sense and that saved from being a victim. As much as people want to blame the police we as individuals are the first who should be looking out for our own safety.
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