Families of foreign victims demand answers, accountability for 2022 Itaewon disaster

The families of foreign victims who perished in the 2022 Itaewon crowd crush expressed their disappointment on Wednesday, after viewing second-by-second footage of their loved ones' final moments. The recordings revealed a lack of police officers present at the scene and a rescue response that was deemed too delayed. Damira Sherniyazova, who traveled from Kazakhstan, shared her emotional experience during a press conference in Seoul, describing her sister Madina's last moments as she walked and eventually succumbed to her injuries.

Madina was one of the 26 foreign nationals who lost their lives in the incident that claimed a total of 159 lives in a narrow Seoul alley four years ago. A total of 35 members from 18 different families, hailing from 10 countries, arrived in Korea under the government's invitation starting Friday to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the tragedy.

The special investigation commission, during closed-door meetings with individual families on Wednesday, presented the footage which compiled over 1,000 videos, including CCTV and firefighters' body camera recordings. These recordings allowed the families to witness each victim's movements before the tragedy struck, their final moments and the attempts made by rescue personnel.