"한 팔로 서로 물 먹이며"…살아 돌아왔지만 잊지 못하는 생존자들의 '그 날' / KBS 2022.11.02.

The following are the stories of survivors who returned alive after teetering on the brink of life and death. The survivors bravely testified about how a simple outing to Itaewon—which "anyone could have gone to and was nobody's fault"—turned into such a horrific situation. Although surviving is by no means something to feel sorry about, they even felt apologetic toward those who did not return alive with them. Reporter Moon Ye-seul met with them. [Report] Three friends who were happy after getting Halloween makeup done for 10,000 won. They were middle school classmates who had gathered to enjoy Halloween together amidst their busy daily lives. [Choi Young-gyu / 'Itaewon Tragedy' Survivor: "'I told them it was my first time cosplaying for Halloween, and that it was so much fun and exciting.' But just 10 minutes after getting the makeup done, that accident happened..."] They were pushed around by the crowd and had no choice but to react. At one point, their friends were nowhere to be seen. [Choi Young-gyu / Survivor of the 'Itaewon Tragedy': "We were pushed around and scattered in all directions, and I couldn't move as I wanted. If someone pushed from here, I was pushed here..."] The pain inflicted by that 'pressure' was truly something 'never experienced.' [Choi Young-gyu / Survivor of the 'Itaewon Tragedy': "It was the first time in my life I felt like I was dying while feeling bone-crushing pain. I gave up, thinking, 'Ah, I'm really going to die right now,' so I closed my eyes and barely managed to breathe, even though I couldn't breathe."] With that 'breath' he clung to until the very end, Mr. Choi survived by the skin of his teeth. When he escaped the crowd, he first looked for his scattered friends, but one had already passed away, and it was impossible to even approach that friend. Choi [Choi Young-gyu / 'Itaewon Tragedy' Survivor: "They said we absolutely couldn't go in (because of the lockdown). My friend begged them to let us in, saying people were dying inside, but we couldn't get in."] It was a date with his wife, a long-awaited outing. Wanting to enjoy a carefree atmosphere without masks, they chose Itaewon as their destination. [Kim XX / 'Itaewon Tragedy' Survivor: "I heard COVID restrictions had eased up for the first time in a while, so I decided to go and 'have some fun' to people-watch."] However, at some point, they became trapped in 'that alley,' and remained there for an hour and a half. Just as their consciousness was fading, they were handed 'water of life' by nearby merchants. [Kim XX / 'Itaewon Tragedy' Survivor: "They would pour water and hand it to us, and we would pass it around, taking sips from one person to another, to survive."] But the pressure grew increasingly severe, and just as they felt they couldn't hold out any longer and were about to make a final farewell call to their families, Mr. and Mrs. Kim were dramatically rescued. [Kim OO / Survivor of the 'Itaewon Tragedy': "I feel as if I am trapped there again. I think, 'This person fainted, but this person was still breathing; did they make it out safely?' It just feels like time has stopped right there in my mind."] The survivors repeatedly apologized to those who ultimately did not return alive. While the apologies from those who should have apologized were delayed, the victims were spending their time in agony, apologizing to other victims. This is Moon Ye-seul for KBS News. Cameramen: Kim Min-jun, Choi Seok-gyu / Video Editor: Lee Hyun-mo ▣ View Original KBS Article: http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?nc... ▣ Send a Tip ◇ KakaoTalk: Search 'KBS제보' ◇ Phone: 02-781-1234 ◇ Website: https://goo.gl/4bWbkG ◇ Email: [email protected] #ItaewonTragedy #Survivor #MomentOfAccident