Halloween Stampede: Friends Confirm Death of 23-Year-Old Australian Grace Rached

A young Sydney woman who went on the trip of a lifetime with friends has been identified as an Australian who was crushed to death in a horrific stampede in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

Production assistant Grace Rachaed, 23, was celebrating Halloween with three friends in the Itaewon area when the incident took place.

Ms Rachaed’s friend confirmed her death Daily Telegraph.

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

It is believed that around 100,000 people – mostly in their 20s and 20s – were celebrating Halloween in the area’s narrow streets when the crowd and stampede occurred.

As of Monday morning, the death toll had risen to 154, with more than 100 injured. Among the dead were at least 26 foreign citizens.

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

23 years in the journey of a lifetime before the tragedy

Ms. Rachaed’s social media posts revealed that she had traveled all over the world prior to her trip to Seoul. Posts posted to her Instagram account revealed that the 23-year-old had vacationed in Mexico City, Bali and Gili Trawangan in Indonesia.

On Saturday, she shared a video of her holiday in Bali with her friends, captioning the post: “Thank you Bali, you were explosive.”

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

In one of her latest TikTok videos, posted Aug. 28, Ms. Rachaed reflected on the lessons of her “almost 24-year life.” In one frame, she wrote: “When you leave, nothing leaves with you. So you can have a good time here.”

“Slow and painful stampede”

Australian Nathan Tavernity, who shared heartbreaking clips of Ms Rachaed on the night of her death, said it was “impossible” to save his friend and criticized the authorities for their response.

He said he spent Sunday trying to find her body and asked the consulate for help. He added that two of his other friends caught in the stampede were also hospitalized and are in critical condition.

“All I could see was a wall of people,” he told the South Korean news agency Yonhap.

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

On TikTok, Mr Tavernity said it took police half an hour to arrive at the scene and even longer for other emergency services to arrive.

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

“My friends were crushed in front of me and there was nothing I could do about it.

“This stampede was not caused by drunken people. It was a lack of planning (on the part of) the police and emergency services, and no one was willing to help.

“I watched people sing and film and laugh while my friends died along with many other people.

“No one did anything to stop the crowd.”

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

“The Australian Government extends its condolences to the family and others affected by this tragic incident,” a DFAT spokesman said.

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

mourning declared

In connection with the tragedy, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol declared mourning.

He wished the victims a “speedy recovery” and expressed regret over the “miserable” disaster.

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

Originally published as Halloween stampede: Friends confirm death of 23-year-old Australian Grace Rachaed in Seoul Halloween stampede