Families of foreign Itaewon victims say footage from final moments shows police absence

Families of foreign victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush watched footage of their loved ones’ final moments during meetings with the special investigation commission in Seoul Wednesday. They said the recordings showed too few police officers and delayed rescue efforts, while expressing frustration that the investigation had made little progress. The commission’s mandate was extended to Sept. 16, 2027, and it said it would investigate former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min and former President Yoon Suk Yeol within the year.

The commission presented footage drawn from about 1,000 videos, including CCTV and firefighters’ body-camera recordings.

Damira Sherniyazova said rescuers reached her sister 44 minutes after she was swept along by the crowd.

Thirty-five family members from 18 families across 10 countries arrived in Korea at the government’s invitation starting Friday.

The commission’s mandate, originally due to expire Oct. 16, was extended to Sept. 16, 2027.

Families said none had been contacted by their embassies or the Korean government since their previous visit.

Published Oct 28, 2026 4:12 pm KST

Families of foreign victims of the Itaewon crowd crush attend a press conference at the House of Stars in the Jeokseon Hyundai Building in Jongno District, Seoul, Wednesday, the day before the disaster’s fourth anniversary. Yonhap

Families of foreign victims of the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush watched second-by-second footage of their loved ones’ final moments and said the recordings showed too few police officers at the scene and a rescue response that came too late.

“Yesterday was a difficult day for me. I watched my sister’s final moments, where she walked and how she died,” Damira Sherniyazova, who traveled from Kazakhstan, said during a press conference in Seoul Wednesday. Her sister, Madina, was among the 26 foreign nationals killed in the crowd crush that claimed 159 lives in a narrow Seoul alley four years ago.

A total of 35 members of 18 families across 10 countries arrived in Korea at the government’s invitation starting Friday to mark the fourth anniversary of the tragedy. During closed-door meetings with individual families on Wednesday, the special investigation commission presented footage showing each victim’s movements prior to the disaster, their final moments and rescue attempts. The footage drew on some 1,000 videos the commission had collected, including CCTV and firefighters’ body camera recordings.

“We were shown photos and footage of my sister, minute by minute, second by second. At first, she was walking normally, smiling and happy. Then, suddenly, she was swept along by the crowd,” Sherniyazova said. “It took 44 minutes before rescuers reached her. That is a very long time to wait without oxygen.”

Pascal Guenego, a French national whose son, Limamou Laye Guenego, died in the crush, said the footage confirmed what many families long suspected: There were too few police officers at the scene and civilians — not emergency responders — were the first to perform CPR.

“It was a terrible and emotional experience, seeing my son’s death. But we came to understand how the incident happened,” he said.

However, the grief of viewing the footage was accompanied by frustration as family members said the investigation had made little progress. Their concerns centered on the commission's failure to reach firm conclusions and its repetition of the same updates it had offered a year earlier, when foreign families were first invited to Korea.

“I thought last year would be my last trip to Seoul. I was told the investigation would be finished by the end of the summer of 2026,” said Susanne Rosholmen Roalkvam, a Norwegian woman who lost her daughter. “I cannot understand what is going on in Seoul, which is why we returned.”

Guenego added, “We kept hearing the same vague statements over and over: that the commission’s mandate had been extended by a year, that nothing had been firmly established and that they were working on it.”

The commission’s mandate, originally due to expire on Oct. 16, was extended to Sept. 16, 2027. At an interim briefing Tuesday, the commission outlined gaps in police deployment and failures in the disaster response command system. The commission announced it would investigate the former interior minister and former President Yoon Suk Yeol within this year.

For Iranian mother Hajar Jalal Far, who lost her son Ali Parakand, the visit marked her fourth trip to Korea. She said the promises made during her previous visit rang hollow.

"When we came to Korea last year with help from civic groups, the president promised a thorough investigation and justice and the special investigation commission had been launched. The National Assembly speaker also promised to uncover the truth," she said.

“But before coming to Korea this time, we were shocked by news from the court. Even audio recordings of calls to the police’s emergency hotline had not been submitted to the court ... How can we, the bereaved families, expect truth and justice?"

Families also reported experiencing a persistent information gap. When asked whether any of them had been contacted by their embassies or the Korean government since last year’s visit, none raised a hand.

“We remain cut off from information and left in the dark,” Jalal Far said. “We cannot spend all our time searching for what is happening in Korea.”

Although the former Yongsan police chief and the district chief are on trial, families and relatives said those responsible for failures in the initial response — including the delayed arrival of rescue crews and the absence of crowd control — must also face consequences.

“I want to know, name by name, who is responsible,” Sherniyazova said.

Despite their frustration, several family members expressed gratitude toward the commission’s investigators and the Korean civilians who tried to save lives that night.

“I saw the young man who gave my son CPR,” said Penda Diallo, the mother of the French victim. "I thank him for trying until the very end."

2022年梨泰院人群踩踏事件中外国遇难者的家属周三在首尔与特别调查委员会会面，观看了亲人临终前的录像。他们表示，录像显示警力不足，救援行动迟缓，并对调查进展缓慢表示失望。该委员会的授权期限延长至2027年9月16日，并表示将在年内对前内政部长李相珉和前总统尹锡烈展开调查。

委员会展示了从约 1000 个视频中提取的画面，其中包括闭路电视监控录像和消防员的随身摄像机录像。

达米拉·舍尼亚佐娃说，她的妹妹被人群卷走 44 分钟后，救援人员才找到她。

应韩国政府邀请，来自 10 个国家的 18 个家庭的 35 名家庭成员从周五开始抵达韩国。

该委员会的授权期限原定于 10 月 16 日到期，现已延长至 2027 年 9 月 16 日。

家属们表示，自上次访问以来，他们都没有接到各自大使馆或韩国政府的联系。

发布于2026年10月28日下午4:12（韩国标准时间）

周三，在梨泰院人群踩踏事件四周年纪念日前一天，外国遇难者家属在首尔钟路区赤仙现代大厦的“明星之家”举行新闻发布会。（韩联社）

2022年梨泰院人群踩踏事件中外国遇难者的家属逐秒观看亲人最后时刻的录像，并表示录像显示现场警力不足，救援反应也来得太晚。

“昨天对我来说是无比艰难的一天。我亲眼目睹了姐姐生命的最后时刻，她走过的路，以及她去世的方式，”来自哈萨克斯坦的达米拉·舍尔尼亚佐娃周三在首尔举行的新闻发布会上说道。她的姐姐玛迪娜是四年前首尔一条狭窄巷道踩踏事件中遇难的26名外国公民之一，那场踩踏事件共造成159人死亡。

应韩国政府邀请，来自10个国家的18个家庭共35名成员于周五抵达韩国，纪念这场悲剧四周年。周三，特别调查委员会与各家庭举行闭门会议，播放了每位遇难者在灾难发生前的行踪、临终前的最后时刻以及救援行动的录像。这些录像取材于委员会收集的约1000段视频，包括监控录像和消防员的执法记录仪视频。

“我们看到了我妹妹的照片和视频，一分一秒地记录着她的情况。起初，她走路很正常，脸上带着笑容，看起来很开心。然后，突然间，她就被人群卷走了，”舍尔尼亚佐娃说。“救援人员花了44分钟才找到她。在没有氧气的情况下等待这么长时间，实在太难熬了。”

法国公民帕斯卡尔·盖内戈 (Pascal Guenego) 的儿子利马穆·莱耶·盖内戈 (Limamou Laye Guenego) 在踩踏事件中丧生。帕斯卡尔表示，这段视频证实了许多家庭长期以来的怀疑：现场警力不足，而且最先实施心肺复苏的不是急救人员，而是平民。

“亲眼目睹儿子的死亡，是一段可怕而痛苦的经历。但我们最终明白了事故发生的原因，”他说。

然而，观看录像带来的悲痛之外，家属们也感到沮丧，因为他们表示调查进展甚微。他们的担忧主要集中在调查委员会未能得出确切结论，以及重复一年前首次邀请外国家属前往韩国时所提供的相同信息。

“我原以为去年是我最后一次去首尔。有人告诉我，调查会在2026年夏末结束，”失去女儿的挪威妇女苏珊娜·罗索尔门·罗尔克瓦姆说道。“我无法理解首尔到底发生了什么，所以我们又回来了。”

格内戈补充说：“我们反复听到同样的含糊不清的说法：委员会的授权期限延长了一年，任何事情都没有得到确切的确定，他们正在努力。”

该委员会的任期原定于10月16日到期，现已延长至2027年9月16日。在周二举行的中期简报会上，委员会概述了警力部署方面的不足以及灾害应对指挥系统的缺陷。委员会宣布将在今年内对前内政部长兼前总统尹锡烈展开调查。

对于痛失爱子的伊朗母亲哈贾尔·贾拉勒·法尔来说，此次访问是她第四次来到韩国。她说，上次访问期间韩国做出的承诺都显得空洞无物。

“去年我们借助民间团体的力量来到韩国时，总统承诺将进行彻底调查并伸张正义，特别调查委员会也已经成立。国会议长也承诺会查明真相，”她说道。

“但这次来韩国之前，我们从法院得到的消息让我们震惊不已。就连拨打警方紧急热线的录音都没有提交给法院……我们这些遇难者家属，又怎能指望得到真相和公正呢？”

家属们还反映，他们一直面临着信息匮乏的问题。当被问及自去年访问以来，是否有人接到过各自国家大使馆或韩国政府的联系时，无人举手。

“我们仍然无法获取信息，一无所知，”贾拉勒·法尔说。“我们不能把所有时间都花在寻找韩国正在发生的事情上。”

虽然前龙山警察局长和区长正在接受审判，但家属和亲属表示，那些对最初应对措施失误负有责任的人——包括救援人员到达时间延迟和缺乏人群控制——也必须承担后果。

“我想知道，要由谁来负责，”舍尔尼亚佐娃说。

尽管感到沮丧，但一些家属还是对委员会的调查人员和当晚试图拯救生命的韩国平民表示了感激之情。

“我亲眼看到了给我儿子做心肺复苏的那个年轻人，”法国遇难者的母亲彭达·迪亚洛说，“我感谢他坚持到最后一刻。”