Teen Was Stuck Under 'Pile Of People' For An Hour In Seoul Stampede, Says Mother

The mother of a 19-year-old girl in South Korea opened up about what it was like when she found out her daughter was stuck under a "pile of people" for over an hour after Halloween festivities in Seoul led to a stampede.

The mother, identified as Ahn, said her daughter's boyfriend tried to pull her out during the tragedy that claimed at least 153 lives and left 82 more injured.

The 19-year-old victim had asked Ahn for money before heading out to Itaewon to meet her boyfriend, Insider reported. It was supposed to be one of their last dates before the boyfriend left for his mandatory service in the military.

"She said, 'Mom, gimme some money!' and then went out," Ahn told Yonhap News Agency while at the Soonchunhyang University Hospital. She arrived to find some news about her daughter at the hospital, where several victims were taken after the deadly stampede.

Ahn, who asked for an alias to be used for her daughter's name, said the boyfriend called her up about seven hours later to say she was dead. The 19-year-old was identified by the news outlet as Kim Da-bin.

"Her boyfriend called me around midnight, crying, saying Da-bin was dead, that she'd been under a pile of people for over an hour and that he'd tried to pull her out but couldn't," Ahn said. "I rushed here after getting his call but haven't received confirmation."

The deceased teen was the second of four siblings who lost their father early in life. The mother said Da-bin was mature for her age and began working young so she could help raise her younger siblings.

"I'll just keep searching," Ahn told the outlet as she waited at the hospital to know her daughter's fate.

Most of the victims in Saturday's tragedy were youngsters in their 20s. 19 foreign nations, including two Americans, were killed in the stampede.

The exact cause of the stampede was being investigated, officials said.

Itaewon's nightlife areas are usually crowded, especially during Halloween, but this year's turnup was "another level," said Janelle Story, an American who has been living in South Korea for over five years, ABC News reported.

"It's the first time since the pandemic that we've been able to actually just go out," she said. "Itaewon is famous for being really crowded, but this was just a level I'd never seen before."