TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A doctor who is based in Taiwan on Monday (Oct. 31) who says he was at the Itaewon Halloween crowd crush posted an account of the tragedy and wrote that he is still greatly disturbed by the incident.

A large-scale stampede broke out in the Itaewon district of Seoul, South Korea during massive Halloween festivities that drew over 100,000 people on Oct. 29. By Tuesday (Nov. 1), the death toll had risen to 156, including 130 South Koreans and 26 foreign nationals, most of whom were in their 20s and 30s.

On Monday (Oct. 31), a man who described himself as a Korean-overseas compatriot who works as a physician in Taiwan posted his account of the incident on the social media site Dcard, under the handle "National Yang-Ming University." He wrote that he had gone to South Korea to visit relatives because he had a long vacation and visited Itaewon to take in the Halloween events.

When he stepped out of a bar, he heard moans and cries for help. At first, he thought the sounds were somehow staged for Halloween, but the sounds became louder and were clearly real. That was when he realized the scene "really was hell on earth."

He said that he works in internal medicine and providing emergency treatment is a common occurrence for him. However, without equipment, he could only quickly assess the injured.

If he found a victim was unconscious and without a pulse, he would start chest compression immediately. If their pulse returned, he would ask another medical professional to take over, and he would go to the next injured person.

If there was no response after more than half an hour of CPR, he wrote, "I could only call for someone else to take over, and I would go on to the next victim." He wrote that he told paramedics that he was a doctor and after they consulted with their superiors, he was given medical equipment and support.

He was able to help set up a few IVs and inserted a few endotracheal tubes (ET tubes) into the throats of people suffering from hemothorax and pneumothorax. However, he wrote that there were very few people who showed signs of recovery throughout the night.

As a physician, he used to think that he could deal with all life and death situations, and that "I could take any big scene calmly, but that night I panicked, and I still can't sleep well now."

"I hear the wailing and groaning of the victims in my ears, and I have been awakened by nightmares from time to time. The black and purple twisted faces are lingering in my mind."

Doctor's account of treating the injured at Itaewon. (Dcard screenshot)