A woman who survived the mob crush in South Korea that killed over 150 people said that she felt as if her feet were being lifted off the ground and her lungs were being squashed.
A 23-year-old Mexican medical student named Juliana Velandia Santaella told The Washington Post that she spent Saturday night participating in Halloween festivities in Seoul’s bustling Itaewon neighborhood.
Just after 10 o’clock, according to Santaella, she snapped a photo of three costumed ladies and then headed home via an alley. However, Santaella said that the area was quite congested and that she had begun to experience crowd pressure.
She told the Post, “At some point, my feet weren’t even touching the ground anymore.” My breathing was being hampered by the unconscious man who was sitting on top of me.
Santaella remembered being squashed to the point that her neck was the only portion of her body that could move freely as she got entangled with individuals and below her.
“I assumed that I would be the next to leave. I really believed I was going to pass away,” she spoke to The Post. “I was totally immobile. I eventually lost sensation in my legs. Not even my toes could move.”
She said that when her lungs started to feel like they were being squashed, she began to concentrate on taking quick, short breaths via her lips.
She continued, describing how after a few minutes, others around gradually stopped shouting for assistance.
Santaella told the Post that she was rescued by a young guy who grabbed her arms and dragged her up with him as he was standing on an elevated ledge. She said that she ultimately returned safely.
The 23-year-old, however, claimed that she awoke Sunday morning with a fever and drove herself to a neighboring hospital’s emergency department.
She claimed that rhabdomyolysis, a potentially fatal illness that “occurs when injured muscle tissue discharges its proteins and electrolytes into the blood,” had been detected in her.
According to the CDC, this may harm the heart and kidneys, leading to death or lasting impairments.
Following the horrific tragedy, which has shocked the nation, at least 154 deaths are confirmed to have occurred.
Police claimed to have assembled a task team of 475 people to look into the crush.