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Why do crowd crushes happen?
Thanks for asking.
On the 29th of October 2022, 20000 people were celebrating Halloween in the Itaewon neighborhood of Seoul in South Korea.
One particular narrow street became very overcrowded and a huge crush ensued, leading to the deaths of 153 people, with many more injured.
A month later, we still don't know exactly what caused the crush.
One of the theories out there is that a rumor spread in the crowd leading them to believe that a celebrity was in a nearby bar.
But a lot of blame has been apportioned to the authorities for poor planning and a slow response to events.
Why do things get dangerous in such situations?
A lot of people think that crowd crushers are down to a stampede of people running in panic and crushing others on the floor.
But in fact most people killed in crowd crushers are actually those standing up who die from suffocation or heart failure.
A big part of crowd management relates to simple physics.
High crowd density is what makes a situation really dangerous.
With a density of six people per square meter or higher.
People are in constant physical contact and it's hard to keep a wide stance.
They can easily lose the ability to control their own movement.
A crowd crush is rare or do they happen all the time?
It's always shocking when they happen.
It just seems like such a tragic and senseless way for people to die.
But in reality, these events aren't so uncommon.
They cause hundreds of deaths each year.
In the 21st century alone, we've had the Al-Aima Bridge disaster, which killed 953 people in Baghdad in 2005, and the 2015 Mina Stampede, which resulted in over 2000 deaths during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.
Closer to home.
The Hillsborough Stadium disaster in 1989 killed 97 people, the biggest ever death toll at a sporting event in Britain.
How can I protect myself and others if I end up in an overcrowded area?
There are certain survival reflexes which are good to know.
If you're in a large crowd, don't put your bag on the floor in front of you.
If the crowd surges, it could cause you to trip and fall.
Stay away from obstacles like barriers, walls and lamp posts, as most people killed are crushed against such hard objects.
If you can move away from the centre of the crowd and towards an area where the crowd density is lower.
If you're really stuck in the crowd, hold your arms in front of you like a boxer to give your thoracic cage some space, allowing you to breathe.
Save oxygen by not shouting, and let yourself be carried along in the direction the crowd is going.
In any case, you won't be able to push in the opposite direction.
Finally, while our survival instinct does kick in in such situations, we should still look out for other people, especially those who are vulnerable.
University of Sussex researcher John Drury has proved that a crowd working together has higher chances of surviving than people acting only as individuals.
There you have it.
Now you know why crowd crushes happen.
In under three minutes, we answer your questions and help you understand the true meaning behind the trends, concepts and acronyms that are making headlines.
Listen along and you will really know for sure.
