An English teacher in Seoul who was passing through Itaewon on Saturday night told CNN what she saw.
“There were rows and rows of people with tarps covering them in the street,” Emily Farmer, 27, said.
Farmer, who was with two friends, said he did not see any crowd control measures in the area.
The tragedy has killed at least 151 people and left dozens more injured. Nineteen foreigners, from Iran, Norway, China and Uzbekistan, are also among the dead.
The farmer and her friends were “overwhelmed” by the crowd on the street and decided to go into a bar.
Soon after, rumors spread that someone had died and customers were not allowed to leave. Farmer said he received an emergency message from the government alerting them to “a dangerous situation in the area”.
He was allowed to leave the bar around midnight and learned of the tragedy that had taken place outside.
“It was horrible,” he said. “Not everyone died instantly.”
“They were still taking people (outside) because there were so many people,” he added.
There were also people who were still partying in the street, essentially oblivious to what was happening.”
Groups of people were crying, he added. Many victims were receiving CPR and their costumes were removed to allow medics at the scene to revive them.
He still hasn’t heard back from two local acquaintances he messaged last night. “I’m still in shock. It was obviously very traumatic,” he added.