Tragedy struck Seoul’s international Itaewon district last Saturday as more than a hundred thousand people went out to celebrate Halloween. As crowds began to push and shove along a narrow, sloped alleyway, people began falling on top of each other. Many couldn’t breathe.

According to transcripts made public by the police, from 6:34 pm to 10:15 pm KST there were 11 emergency calls to the police from various people to report overcrowding and multiple injuries. The earliest phone call came four hours before people began dying.