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◇ Attorney Park Ji-hoon (hereinafter referred to as Park Ji-hoon): Let’s listen to the situation in more detail by contacting the informant who saw the accident. Hwang Min-hyuk is on the phone. Thank you for agreeing to the interview.
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: Yes, first of all, I was thinking if I should have an interview because it was a very big event in Korea, and it was not a good thing.
◇ Park Jihoon: How big was the crowd? were you there
◆ Hwang Min-hyeok: I wasn’t in Itaewon, but I got a disaster message while I was there and there was an accident.
◇ Park Jihoon: Then, were you directly at the scene of the accident?
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: Yes. At that time, all of a sudden, police cars and first responders couldn’t get into the car, so they came running with their equipment. So this seems like a really big deal, so I went too. The situation was so horrible that it was impossible to put it into words.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: You must not have seen exactly how big the crowd was in Itaewon?
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: I felt like there was a crowd almost the same size as the World Cup. I went to a fireworks festival a while ago, and I felt that the crowd was almost the same as back then.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: When Hwang Min-hyuk went, I believe there were many people who fell down or asked for rescue.
◆ Minhyuk Hwang: When I arrived, dozens of people on the street were already receiving CPR. There was a shortage of manpower, so it hit the police line. When I went a little further into the lane, there were so many casualties lying there with their faces covered in the lane, bleeding. I think I was traumatized because I couldn’t sleep for the second day, but I think I still remember my love, holding my love who had a cardiac arrest in my arms and cried not to die, and women seemed to come together. indeed, it is unlikely that ordinary people will see that kind of thing. However, seeing the situation, the first responders asked for help if there were people who could perform CPR urgently because there were people who were holding their breath. And those who survived marked the ship. Because this person helped me a lot. There were so many scenes that I couldn’t even forget, there were so many pale, cold bodies in front of me. I filmed a video for a while, and there were more than 30 people in front of me. I also went to the military and learned CPR while in the reserve, but in reality there are so many people lying on the ground and their fingers does not move. I was very scared. In a way, I didn’t go through war, but I learned a lot about it, as a Korean man. But when I asked for help, there were many citizens who helped, but there were also many people who hesitated. To be honest, I was so scared.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: It sounds like there were quite a few people who helped with the rescue operation, right?
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: Yes, but thanks to the help of many citizens, I gained courage and tried to save even one person, but there were some who didn’t. There were people who moved their fingers in front of me, so I did CPR as I learned. After about 5 to 10 minutes, he died. It seems to have been very traumatic for me now, so I feel guilty and sad.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: Looking at some of the videos that have been spread on social media, one side is doing CPR, but the other side seems to have had situations like dancing? What was the real atmosphere like?
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: First of all, there were so many people and there were tens of thousands of people watching along the street, so maybe the people behind him didn’t know what happened. When I first saw him, I thought the wounded would not be as many as there were not so many people lying, but there were so many people lying on the side of the lane where there were no people. To put it bluntly, bodies were piled up, seeing that there were many. However, no manpower was there yet, and the firefighters and police officers had just arrived, so I wonder if the people there didn’t know.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: Was the traffic control in good condition? There were reports that ambulances were unable to reach the scene of the accident.
◆ Hwang Min-hyuk: If you look at the road in front of Itaewon, it’s a two-lane road. The ambulances are big and there are so many cars in that area, when I see them, the firefighters abandon their cars and run away. So I remember there was hardly any traffic at that time.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: I hope you overcome it well. In terms of trauma, the government is forming the Itaewon Accident Integrated Psychological Support Team within the National Trauma Centre, so it would be good to be informed. It must have been difficult, but thanks for the interview. It was Hwang Min-hyuk. An unnamed current doctor who directly assisted with CPR and rescue activities at the scene has also been contacted by phone. Teacher?
◐ Field Doctor: Yes, hello.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: I heard that you were directly at the scene of the accident. First of all, can you tell us about the situation around Itaewon at the time?
◐ Field Doctor: Yes, as you may have heard from many news stories, the area around Itaewon was very crowded at the time. As people entering and leaving are mixed and moved, those trying to enter are pushed out by those trying to leave, and it appears that those trying to enter have repeated this unfortunate situation.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: I heard that you are a current doctor, did you do the rescue work yourself on the spot?
◐ Doctor on site: Yes, the first rescuers were transporting patients to the main road, and the next patient was still being transported, so we decided that there were not enough rescue workers, so we proceeded directly to the location.
◇ Park Jihoon: What were the symptoms and conditions of the patients at the time? According to the report, there was an abdominal attack, bleeding or something like that?
◐ Field Doctor: At that time, most of the patients were already suffering from cardiac arrest. There was no pulse or breathing, some had pale faces, and some had nosebleeds and blood in their mouths. Also, many people had symptoms of abdominal distension during CPR. At the time, the exact cause was not known, but after watching the news report, I found out that there was a crushing accident. It is believed that the organs were torn due to the strong pressure at the time of the accident and bleeding.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: Were there people who returned to consciousness during the rescue operation?
◐ Doctors on site: There were also many medical personnel apart from the rescue workers at the scene at the time. Most of the citizens also carried out rescue operations according to the instructions of the medical staff, but unfortunately, only one of 80 people recovered consciousness on the spot.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: You said there are more women than men?
◐ Field Doctor: Yes, even where I was, most of them were women, and they looked so young, so that part still hurts my heart.
◇ Park Jihoon: As a doctor, is there anything you regret about this accident?
◐ Doctor on site: At that time, there were rescuers, the police, and many citizens at the scene, but it was very crowded, so it was difficult to control. There were too many casualties compared to those who were able to provide first aid, so I think it is unfortunate that there were not many rescue personnel.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: Give advice to those who have experienced this kind of situation or what to do if something like this happens in the future.
◐ Field doctor: Firstly, there were many people without medical knowledge, so of course it would be great to be together when there are medical staff around, but if you don’t, don’t think that someone will help you . When receiving instructions from the Situation Center, I ask to bring the patient to a safe place after being conscious. After asking for help or help from people around you, we would be grateful if you would take care of the patient until rescuers arrive, following the instructions of the Situation Room Center.
◇ Park Ji-hoon: You did a difficult job, I hope you can get through it and overcome it. Thanks for the interview today.
YTN Eunji Lee (yinzhi@ytnradio.kr)
