Amid tragedy, heroic, heart-warming stories shared online

Rescue workers move victims from the scene of the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy to nearby hospitals, Saturday night. Yonhap

Two sisters performed CPR on 50 people; baseball player pays tribute to fan killed in tragedy

By Lee Yeon-woo

The story of two sisters ― identified only by their surname of Ha ― who are both nurses and performed CPR on 50 people along with other rescue workers at the scene of the Itaewon crowd crush tragedy, has touched people's hearts.

The two Ha sisters said they had been trying to walk through Itaewon when they heard a scream. The situation quickly turned to chaos, and they realized they were about 10 steps behind where the incident occurred.

Calls desperately looking for doctors and nurses came from inside a nearby building where 30 to 40 people who were unconscious had been moved, as rescuers could not enter the area. Both the older and younger sister, the former a current nurse and the latter a former nurse, went in and immediately started performing CPR on the injured who had collapsed, joining paramedics, police and ordinary people doing so nearby.

To sort patients based on the severity of their condition, the sisters asked whether anybody had a pen. Somebody handed over a tube of lipstick, which they used to mark the victims.

Around 20 minutes later, the police secured a larger space outside, where they moved the patients. Along with other paramedics and firefighters, the Ha sisters performed CPR on 40 to 50 people for more than three hours.

"I did my best to save their lives as a former medical worker. But it was so heartbreaking to tell the victims' friends and family members that things did not look promising," the younger sister said.

Another heart-warming story is about a star baseball player who paid tribute to one of his fans who was killed during the Itaewon tragedy.

LG Twins' infielder Oh Ji-hwan throws the ball toward first base in a game against Samsung Lions during the 2022 regular season in this June 16 file photo. Korea Times file

On Tuesday, LG Twins' infielder Oh Ji-hwan went to the funeral of one of the 156 victims who was killed during the Halloween crowd crush in Itaewon, after learning from his wife that the female victim was one of his fans.

Oh and his wife, Kim Young-eun, went to the funeral where they met the husband of the victim after dropping their child off at a childcare center.

"He burst into tears after telling us that his wife had been a huge fan of Oh. It was heart-wrenching," Kim wrote on Instagram. "I got a direct message from one of my acquaintances a day earlier that the victim had been a fan of my husband." Kim shared a photo featuring her husband with a woman whose face had been blurred out to protect her identity. The woman, who was identified with only her surname of Joo, had gone to Itaewon on Saturday for Halloween with her daughter.

After learning of their tragic story, Kim said she and her husband couldn't sleep well that night, so the couple decided to drop by the funeral to console the victim's family. "We're told that the victim had been eager to see my husband again at a ballpark and had practiced the words, 'Mr. Oh, please could you give me your autograph here,' many times as she was to ask that of my husband if and when she were to meet him," Kim wrote.

"I thank Ms. Joo for supporting my husband. Rest in peace," Kim wrote.

Paramedic workers and police at the scene of the crowd crush tragedy in Itaewon, Saturday night. Yonhap

Another story is about the love of a father for his daughter.

A 62-year-old man identified only by his surname of Jang, who lives in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, is still distressed when he recalls the events of Saturday night, when his daughter nearly lost her life.

His daughter, in her 20s, who had gone to Itaewon to hang out with friends, suddenly called him and said, "Dad, the people next to me are all dead." The signal kept cutting out and the line soon went dead.

Soon after, his daughter sent him a text message from Itaewon police station. "I barely survived, but I think my leg is broken. A crowd crush happened in Itaewon. I got crushed at the very bottom on my way back home. Help me. I'm so scared."

He immediately grabbed a taxi to go find his daughter. However, the roads of Itaewon had been blocked off to traffic. He eventually had to get out of the taxi and run about 1.5 kilometers to Itaewon police station.

"Four people were lying there, including my daughter, but her condition was so bad. She needed to be transferred to a hospital immediately," Jang recalled.

"Many people were dead so the police and firefighters were dealing with them first. It seemed like they would need another three to four hours before bringing her to the hospital."

His daughter was in pain. By that time, there were no ordinary vehicles on the roads, so he had no choice. He lifted his daughter onto his back and ran another kilometer searching for a taxi that would take them to a hospital. Exhausted and frustrated, he could not find one.

Finally, a couple in their 30s approached and offered them a ride in their car. They drove Jang and his daughter to nearby emergency room at Hallym University Medical Center, Yeouido.

But it turned out that the emergency room was already packed with other patients from Itaewon. The couple then asked Jang where he lived and gave him and the daughter another ride to the emergency room at CHA Bundang Medical Center, which is near Jang's residence.

Thanks to their help, Jang's daughter received treatment, has stabilized and been transferred to a general ward. The hospital said that Jang's daughter had her kidney and right leg damaged as she had been exposed to intense pressure for an extended period.

"After we arrived at the hospital, the couple even brought over a wheelchair and helped me move my daughter into the emergency room. They spent three to four hours on the road to get us to this hospital. I tried to make it up to them out of gratitude, but they adamantly declined any money," Jang said while expressing how much he appreciated their help.

Amid the tragedy, a number of other heroic and heart-warming stories have also been reported. Some testified that there were people who tried to save victims by lifting them up to nearby stairs of Hamilton Hotel, which serves as a side exit of the place. Some have said that a man wearing a Santa costume prevented people from entering the alley by shouting and running through the streets nearby.

"It was very disappointing that the necessary medical equipment and rescue workers could not arrive at the scene quickly due to the traffic congestion and large crowd in the area," the younger Ha sister said.

"I hope this kind of tragedy never happens again."