Families of Japanese Seoul crush victims identify bodies

Headline should be more sensitive. “Killed” should be replaced with a more less violent word. It was a tragic event, with many families and friends affected, even in Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway who also lost young people.

many families and friends affected, even in Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Norway who also lost young people

This is how news works. This is a Japanese site, so naturally emphasizes Japanese victims. The Australian site I just read emphasized the one Australian victim, with no mention of those from Japan. For better or worse, people are generally more interested when a fellow citizen is involved.

It was reported that about five males started pushing the crowd from the back which initiated the disaster. I remember watching the Bastille day parade in Paris when about three males deliberately pushed the crowd for about 40 meters causing many people to fall on each other

It happens every other day during rush hour in Tokyo trains and I've witness myself a couple of times, one crazy guy starts shoving people for no reason when there was plenty of space, causing disturbance and anxiety in the whole carriage, everybody thinking a whole crowd was trying to get inside when in reality it was only this guy, it made me nauseous just by watching it from the platform.

Two America' died. About 26,000 Japanese live in Seoul. About 46,000 live in Korea.

I used to think the police at Shibuya were heavy handed spoilers of fun.

I have now reconsidered this opinion.

Japanese people, Korea is a much more violent/risky country. Travel at your own risk.

"I just want to see her as soon as possible," 

That is painful to read. My own sister died young and I remember my Dad wanting to spend some last moments alone with her body before she was cremated, just to spend a few last minutes on Earth before she was gone forever. The pain of being a parent mourning your lost child is just unimaginable. With so many young victims there are a lot of grieving parents out there right now. So horrible.

It happens every other day during rush hour in Tokyo trains and I've witness myself a couple of times, one crazy guy starts shoving people for no reason when there was plenty of space, causing disturbance and anxiety in the whole carriage, everybody thinking a whole crowd was trying to get inside when in reality it was only this guy, it made me nauseous just by watching it from the platform.

Yes exactly, on the Yamanote during morning rush hour I have had the sensation of being crushed alive.

Eric: “Japanese people, Korea is a much more violent/risky country. Travel at your own risk.”

unless you’re attending a fireworks event in Akashi, right?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashi_pedestrian_bridge_accident

reasonwisdomNippon: utter nonsense. Your comments are proof of how your own generalizations are incorrect.

I feel very sorry for the father and all others involved in this. A night of fun and revelry should never end in such tragedy. RIP

So sad. A parent should not experience burying their own child.

I read that the reason was because a celebrity was in the area and people started to "swarm". Or was that a piece of a larger puzzle?

Truly a nightmare for the families and friends of the victims, the irresponsibility of the authorities had huge consequences in a tragedy that could have been prevented.

Long ago, went to a The Who concert opened by the Clash. During the Clash session, punkers were throwing their shoes at the stage. Between sets, I managed to maneuver myself to the stage barricade; it was a lengthy setting switch, and the crush of the crowd behind us barricaders became unbearable. Unconscious women were being passed over the crowd, and I was finding it difficult to breathe.

I finally gave in and signaled to a roadie to pull me over. The crowd was so packed, both my tightly-tied wingtips were pulled of. Shoeless and ignored, I searched around under the stage until I found a shoe that fit, searched some more until I found its match. Then I retreated to the stands and watched The Who from there.

Thus, I learned at an early age the danger of crowds. An interesting observation I read is that crowds behave more like a fluid than individual particles.

“ Father of Japanese victim heads to S Korea to see his daughter's body “

..

RIP, Mei Tomikawa; RIP to the 154 beautiful young souls; the families need to have a lot of courage now; be strong (!)

This is every parent nightmare, I hope and pray that he finds peace with his daughter as he meets her for the last time.

RIP.

Lesson learned if you are going into a space where there is wall to wall people and no way of escaping the best thing to do is not enter at all. At any given time if there is someone panicking in the middle or anywhere in that large crowd it will cause a stampede we see this all the time with animals. Once an animal is spooked they all start running and trampling one another. Rip to the deceased!

Laguna - Long ago, went to a The Who concert opened by the Clash. ...Thus, I learned at an early age the danger of crowds.

Was this before or after the infamous Who concert in Cincinnati, when 11 people died during a rush to the stage? If it was after, it appears that the death of 11 people didn't teach the concert promoters anything.

Deeply sad event, though possibly avoidable. The authorities would seem to have dropped the ball.

I got claustrophobic just looking at the pictures of that crowd. There is a reason I hate and avoid large crowds.

Yes, a tragic event.

”Authorities” are just people who put up some yellow tape and write reports afterward, or pass some law, afterwards.

You can’t rely on “authorities” for your safety when you place yourself in a potentially dangerous situation.

Roy SophveasonToday  08:22 am JST

@Rodney,

“Killed” should be replaced with a more less violent word.

What are you suggesting then? "They had a mild case of being trampled to death", followed by the question whether they died from the stampede or with the stampede?

Tragedy is tragedy, esp. for the survivors. It doesn't matter whether it was something ugly and violent like war or something pleasant going wrong. Huey Lewis said it best, 'BAD IS BAD'. It's nothing to dismiss lightly. Ever.

garypenToday  09:31 pm JST

Laguna - Long ago, went to a The Who concert opened by the Clash. ...Thus, I learned at an early age the danger of crowds.

Was this before or after the infamous Who concert in Cincinnati, when 11 people died during a rush to the stage? If it was after, it appears that the death of 11 people didn't teach the concert promoters anything.

I remember the December 1979 Who show in Cincinnati. When I went to see U2, the Pretenders and the BoDeans at Oakland Stadium, California there was a rush to get in, but security managed to handle the flow and manage it. I was 21.

kaimycahlToday  09:22 pm JST

Lesson learned if you are going into a space where there is wall to wall people and no way of escaping the best thing to do is not enter at all. At any given time if there is someone panicking in the middle or anywhere in that large crowd it will cause a stampede we see this all the time with animals. 

We are not animals. And most shows and games I've gone to since then have the entries even better managed than it was in the 70s and 80s. For one thing, now you have to go thru metal detectors and empty your pockets. And don't even think about bringing noise-makers in!

When I was in college and there were huge football 'victory parties' that spilled out into the streets, I tried to meet some friends but when I can't thru such a human mass, I'd just turn around and go home.

The Victoria Hall Incident in Sunderland, England (1883), shows how easily things can go wrong, and circumstances leading up to the accident can be unforseen. (Lessons were learned though as it lead to the invention of the push bar door). I think that it is too early to be apportioning blame.

Japanese people, Korea is a much more violent/risky country. Travel at your own risk.

This kind of accident does not make Korea more violent than Japan. Wherever there are large unsupervised crowds, there is always a risk.

My thoughts are with all of those who lost their lives and their families.

Sadly, I think I see this poor lady in one of the video clips of the crowd being crushed.

The police are trying to determine the cause? They allowed too many people into an area that did not have the capacity for such a crowd. And it doesn’t help that alleyways in Seoul are often hills. At that point it’s like tipping cows and a domino effect. The Korean government should at least compensate the families as it was their negligence that caused this.