CHAOS erupted in Seoul, South Korea after a Halloween parade turned deadly.
The tragedy took the lives of over 150 people, including Kennesaw State University student Steven Blesi.
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Who was Kennesaw State University student Steven Blesi?
Steven Blesi, 20, was a junior at Kennesaw State University, who was studying abroad in South Korea.
The Georgia native embarked on his journey in August 2022, after the Covid-19 pandemic delayed international travel, according to The Washington Post.
He reportedly had a passion for international business and aspired to work in East Asia, The Daily Beast reports.
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What happened to Steven Blesi?
On October 29, 2022, thousands of people flocked to Seoul's Itaewon neighborhood to celebrate Halloween with a parade.
At first, everything seemed normal, but as the crowd made its way down a narrow street, a crowd surge began and several people died as a result.
"We could hear some people in the crowd saying, don't push, but someone in the back said, hey, push! Push! And people started screaming, and the crowd poured in toward our club," a witness who works at an Itaewon club recalled, via NPR.
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While the club does not let minors in, the worker revealed that they opened their doors to everyone in an attempt to save people's lives.
"But even after we did that, there were people collapsed at the entrance, and some passed out," the worker, who declined to give his name to reporters, added.
"We tried to rescue them, but our club was at the end of the surge and there were already three or four layers of people piled on, so we couldn't."
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Blesi and 20-year-old University of Kentucky student Anne Gieske were among the Americans killed in the tragic event.
“It was like it stabbed like a hundred million times simultaneously,” Blesi's father told The New York Times.
“It was like your world just collapsing. It was numb and devastating all at the same time.”
President Joe Biden later commented on Blesi and Gieske's deaths and offered his condolences on Twitter.
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"Jill and I are devastated to learn that at least two Americans are among so many who lost their lives in Seoul," Biden wrote.
"Our hearts go out to their loved ones in this time of grief, and we continue to pray for the recovery of all who were injured."
