If These 3 US Soldiers Were Not There, Victims Of Itaewon Halloween Tragedy Could Have Increased A Lot

JAKARTA - More than 150 lives were lost in the Itaewon Halloween tragedy. Had it not been for these three people, the number could have skyrocketed.

These three people are not citizens of South Korea. Not even South Korean security officers who are now being heavily criticized by the public for their handling of Itaewon Halloween.

They are US soldiers who are currently stationed in South Korea. As quoted from Yonhap News Agency, Thursday, November 3, they are now being praised for saving more than 30 lives.

One of the survivors, a man in his twenties in Cheongju, central South Korea, said the three foreign heroes were US soldiers serving at Camp Casey in Dongducheon, about 50 km north of Seoul.

The man told local media earlier that he was pulled out of chaos in a narrow alley in Itaewon before collapsing and being taken to safety.

The three people are Jarmil Taylor, 40, Jerome Augusta, 34, and Dane Beathard, 32.

"The state of the Itaewon disaster and the rescue activities that the three US soldiers revealed in their interviews are exactly the same as what I experienced," he said.

He said he really wanted to meet the Americans to thank them.