Halloween stampede: Australian woman Grace Rached dies in Seoul Halloween crowd crush

Friends have confirmed the tragic death of a Sydney woman after she died in the horrific crowd crush in South Korea’s capital.

A young Sydney woman on a trip of a lifetime with friends has been identified as the Australian crushed to death in a horror stampede in South Korea’s capital of Seoul.

Production assistant Grace Rached, 23, was celebrating Halloween with three friends in the Itaewon district when the incident unfolded.

Ms Rached’s friend confirmed her death to The Daily Telegraph.

She was dressed as Audrey Hepburn and was filmed dancing with friends just hours before the tragedy unfolded.

Friends confirmed the death of 23-year-old Grace Rached. Picture: Instagram.

It’s believed as many as 100,000 people – mostly in their teens and 20s – were celebrating Halloween in the district’s narrow alleyways when a crowd surge and crush took place.

As of Monday morning, the death toll has increased to 154 people, with more than 100 injured. At least 26 foreign nationals are included among the fatalities.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Ms Rached’s friend described her as “an incredible person and such a light in many people’s lives.”

A deadly stampede in Seoul's Itaewon district has claimed at least 154 lives. Picture: Twitter.

More than 100 people were also injured in the tragedy. Picture: Albert Retief/ AFP.

23yo on trip of a lifetime before tragedy

In Ms Rached’s social media posts, it appeared she had been travelling all around the world, prior her trip to Seoul. Posts shared on her Instagram account showed the 23-year-old holidaying in Mexico City, Bali and Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia.

Grace Rached attended the Halloween festivities dressed as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Picture: TikTok.

On Saturday, she shared a reel of a holiday in Bali with her friends, captioning the post: “Thanks Bali, you were a blast”.

The video showed her dancing with friends, exploring the city and drinking shots and cocktails.

In one of her most recent TikTok videos, shared on August 28, Ms Rached reflected on the learnings from her “almost 24 years of life”. In one frame she wrote: “When you go, nothing goes with you. So you may as well enjoy your time here.”

Ms Rached had visited Bali and Mexico City in the months before her death. Picture: TikTok.

A still from a video on lessons she had learnt in her “almost 24 years of life”. Picture: TikTok.

‘Slow and agonising crush’

Aussie Nathan Taverniti, who shared heartbreaking clips of Ms Rached on the night she died, said it was “impossible” to save his friend and criticised authorities for their response.

He said he had spent Sunday trying to find her body, and appealed to the consulate for help. He added that two of his other friends who were in the crowd crush had also been hospitalised and were in critical condition.

“All I could see was a wall of people,” he told South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.

“People need to know how bad it was and how little help there was.”

Her friend, Nathan Taverniti said attempts to try and save her were “impossible”. Picture: Instagram.

On TikTok, Mr Taverniti claimed it took half and hour for police to attend the scene, and even longer for other emergency services to arrive.

“There was no stampede. It was a slow and agonising crush,” he said.

“My friends were being crushed in front of me and I couldn’t do anything about it.

“This crush was not caused by drunk people. It was a lack of planning (from the) police force and emergency services, and nobody was willing to help.

“I watched as people sang and filmed and laughed while my friends were dying, along with many other people.

“Nobody was doing anything to make the crowd stop.”

Mr Taverniti claimed it took police more than an hour to arrive at the scene. Picture: ABC

On Sunday, the Australian Embassy in Seoul said it had been notified of the death of at least one Australian. Consular officials are providing assistance to the deceased’s family in Australia, and to other Australians who attended the event, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) said.

“The Australian government sends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident,” a DFAT spokesperson said.

“We ask for the family’s privacy to be respected during this difficult time.”

Period of mourning announced

In light of the tragedy, a period of mourning has been announced by the South Korean President, Yoon Suk-yeol.

He wished the injured “speedy recoveries” and described his sorrow over the “miserable” disaster.

He said the government “will thoroughly investigate the cause of the incident and make fundamental improvements to ensure the same accident does not occur again in the future”.

Originally published as Halloween stampede: Australian woman Grace Rached dies in Seoul Halloween crowd crush