Media Outlets Report On Walkie-Talkie Records From The Night Of The Itaewon Crowd Crush

The fire department walkie-talkie records showing the urgent rescue situation during the night of the Itaewon crowd crush have been released. According to the transcript released by the Itaewon Disaster Response Headquarters, the fire department had constantly requested additional backup 29 times.

Below is an organized timeline of the records.

10:18 PM– This was the first time backup was requested after the accident was reported around 10:15 PM.

10:20, 10:24 PM– They demanded the police to come urgently.

10:26 PM– The situation room spread the news that the current number of reports is about 15. They stated, “I think you need to send them police and firefighters. There are wounded people on the streets.” There was a flood of calls after the initial report at 10:15.

10:29 PM– The commanding leader reported that the crew is moving on foot because it is currently difficult to enter the site with vehicles.

10:31 PM– The commander of the field dispatch team asked for “the police to guide passersby in front of the alley to the side of the road. They stated, “About 30 passersby in the alley right next to the Hamilton Hotel have fallen, and we currently don’t see any ambulances.”

At this time, reports that three people were unconscious were also shared. Ambulances heading to Itaewon from places such as Huam and Banpo reported terrible traffic. On the same day, 46 traffic congestion reports due to illegally parked vehicles were received at the Itaewon Police Station.

10:42 PM– An additional dispatch request reported, “About 15 people are performing CPR, but there are no people.”

10:43 PM– The command team leader issues the first stage of response. They report, “About 20 people have fallen in the alleyway by the Hamilton Hotel.” They also requested police to come ASAP so they could secure an alley entrance from the hotel’s left side.

11:00 PM– They reported, “30 people are unconscious. You need to send more paramedics.”

11:05 PM– Yongsan Fire Chief Choi Seong Beom announces he will take command. This is 50 minutes after the accident started.

11:09 PM– He requests additional backup. He then stated, “We need to send a lot of backup behind Hamilton Hotel. Quickly.”

In addition, they reported that about 40 CPR patients were behind the hotel and once again requested urgent support. After arriving at the scene, the fire department dashed to the back of the hotel. They asked for additional paramedics after the first death was announced after the report at 11:09.

11:13 PM– The Seoul General Disaster Prevention Center increased the level to stage two response. The chief stated, “There are so many CPR patients, we can’t even count them,” and asked for additional backup.

There is also a record stating that they requested a disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) and that it had already been ordered.

11:23 PM– They repeatedly requested backup to the back of the Hamilton Hotel.

11:36 PM– The Yongsan Fire Station chief ordered an emergency call to mobilize all off-duty workers at home.

11:46 PM– They instructed for additional police so they could take complete control of Itaewon.

11:48 PM– The head of the Seoul Fire and Disaster Headquarters first appears in the transcript at 11:48 PM. They declared, “As of the present time, the third stage of response will be issued.”

Yongsan Fire Station chief constantly requested for police to control traffic 11 times from 11:09-55.

11:53 PM– They requested more police as too many patients were lying down, and the ambulance could not get out.

11:55 PM– They urgently requested additional backup as they could not control Noksapyong to Itaewon Station.

The chief sent walkie-talkie messages 54 times from 11:05 PM-3:20 AM.

The transcript reported that several people had fallen in other nearby alleys beside the Hamilton Hotel. However, according to the fire department, it is understood that the citizens rescued the injured and moved them to quiet alleys before reporting them to the police.

Listen to the full call below: