Ohio congressman pays tribute to niece killed in South Korea stampede

The final photos of two US exchange students tragically killed in the  Halloween stampede has emerged as the congressman uncle of one victim said she was ‘a gift from God to our family’.

Anne Gieske, 20, posted smiling selfies with Steven Blesi, also 20, during a hike at Hallasan volcano just hours before they were killed in the crush on October 29.

Gieske, a congressman’s niece who celebrated her birthday on Friday, was a junior who attended the University of ‘s nursing program. 

In a tribute today, Ohio representative Brad Wenstrup said: ‘Monica and I, and our entire family, are grieving the loss of our niece Anne Marie Gieske. She was a gift from God to our family. We loved her so much.’

Hours after her tragic passing was reported, the family of Blesi said that they had been notified that he was also among the 156 who perished. He was a junior at Kennesaw State University in . 

Blesi’s father said he text his son just half an hour before the stampede and told him: ‘I know you’re out and about. Be safe.’

Tragically, he never received a reply from his son.

It has now emerged that Seoul police assigned just 137 officers to manage the crowd of Halloween revelers which numbered over 100,000. 

Both Gieske and Blesi were taking part in study abroad programs at their respective schools. 

The incident happened as the crowd at the event on Saturday night became unruly and surged, which triggered a deadly stampede. 

Roughly 100,000 people were present for the South Korean event. 

Gieske’s parents, Dan and Madonna Gieske, said: ‘We are completely devastated and heartbroken over the loss of Anne Marie. She was a bright light loved by all.

‘We ask for your prayers but also the respect of our privacy. Anne’s final gift to us was dying in the state of sanctifying grace. We know we will one day be reunited with her in God’s kingdom.’

Representatives from the University of Kentucky said two other students were also studying abroad in South Korea. Both other students have been accounted for. 

The University’s President, Eli Capilouto, confirmed that the two others are safe at this time. 

‘We have been in contact with Anne’s family and will provide whatever support we can now and in the days ahead as they cope with this indescribable loss,’ said Capilouto.

‘We will be there for those in our community who knew and loved Anne. We also have nearly 80 students from South Korea at UK, members of our community, who will need our support,’ the University’s president continued. 

In August, Gieske set up an Instagram account dedicated to detailing her adventures in South Korea.  

Gieske, who was from Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, graduated from Beechwood High School in 2020, she was a member of Beechwood’s marching band from 2015 to 2020.

Blesi’s father, Steven Blesi, 62, of Marietta, Georgia, told  that their family was contacted on Saturday night by the United States Embassy in Seoul and told the tragic news. 

Earlier, 서울 오피 Steven Blesi had sent out a tweet that featured a picture of his son as the family pleaded for information. Following the confirmation, he tweeted: ‘Thank you for the outpouring of love. We need time to grieve.’ 

In his interview with the Times, Steven Blesi described the pain of his son’s death. He said: ‘It was like it stabbed like a hundred million times simultaneously. It was like your world just collapsing. It was numb and devastating all at the same time.’ 

He said that his son was studying at Hanyang University at the time of his death. Steven Blesi added that his son wanted to pursue business in eastern Asia after graduation. 

He joked in his interview with the Times: ‘My wife is Latin, but he did not want to go to Latin America. He was actually learning Korean in addition to Spanish. He wanted to speak more languages than my wife.’

In addition to his father, Steve Blesi is survived by his mother, Maria, and his brother, Joey. Heartbreakingly, his father told the Times: ‘I texted him maybe a half-hour before all this happened, and I said, «I know you’re out and about. Be safe.» I never got a reply to that.’ 

Among the dead was 24-year-old actor and singer Lee Ji Han, who appeared on reality TV show Produce 101 to create a K-pop band. He later appeared on the popular drama show Today was another Nam Hyan Day in 2019.

His agents paid tribute to the youngster who ‘shone beautifully with his passion for acting’.

935 Entertainment said in a statement: ‘It’s true that Lee Ji Han passed away due to the accident in Itaewon on October 29.

‘We also hoped that it wasn’t true, and we were very shocked to hear the news. The family is suffering immense grief right now, so we are being very cautious. May he rest in peace.’

They later added: ‘Please send a warm farewell to [Lee], who left us too soon. We will also remember Lee, who shone beautifully with his passion for acting.’

Seoul police assigned 137 officers to manage the crowd of Halloween revelers — a decision that has come under intense criticism.

By comparison, nearly 7,000 police officers were sent to another part of the South Korean capital on Saturday to monitor dueling protests that drew tens of thousands but still fewer people than flocked to the popular nightlife district of Itaewon the same night

 Even the task force created to investigate why the crowd surged, with 475 members, is more three times larger than the detail assigned to crowd control.

As South Korea mourns, officials are facing tough questions about preparations for the celebrations and demands for accountability in the wake of the country’s worst disaster in nearly a decade.

The national government has insisted there was no way to predict the crowd would get out of control.

Jude Hehman, Mayor of Gieske’s hometown, City of Fort Mitchell, said he hopes the US government will aid the investigation into how the disaster was able to take place.

He told DailyMail.com: ‘Our prayers and thoughts are with the family.

‘Through this, I know the state and federal government is working to get her remains over here and I’ve offered my support for the city to celebrate her life at the right time.

‘They have received incredible support from the community. What they are describing is just numbness. It’s surreal to put their head around what has happened in this tragedy.’ 

Kennesaw State University said in a statement: ‘Kennesaw State University officials were deeply saddened to learn that KSU student Steven Blesi was among the more than 150 people tragically killed in this weekend’s Halloween incident in Seoul, South Korea.’

The school added that a total of 11 students from Kennesaw State University at currently studying in Seoul. The statement said that all of the other students are safe and have been accounted for.

The school’s president Kathy Schwaig said: ‘On behalf of the entire Kennesaw State community, our thoughts and prayers go out to Steven’s family and friends as they mourn this incomprehensible loss. We have been in contact with Steven’s family and have offered all available resources of the University to them.’

Some reports that the majority of the victims from the incident were teens and individuals in their twenties. 

The party took place in central Seoul and came to a head when the massive crowd attempted to rush through narrow corridors, trampling over others. 

Horrifying video from after the incident shows a fireman in South Korea trembling as he gives a press briefing about the Halloween stampede that killed over 150 people.

An additional 82 were injured during the stampede, the group announced Sunday. 

The ‘heartbreaking’ video, which was taken several hours after the deadly incident occurred, shows the exhausted emergency worker slightly shaking as he holds the microphone.

Online, people responded to the video to share their sympathies with Choi Seong-beom and other emergency workers who attended the traumatic incident.

More than 1,700 emergency workers were deployed from across South Korea to respond to one of the deadliest crowd crushes in recent history — including about 520 firefighters, 1,100 police officers and 70 government workers.

More footage overlooking the street showed dozens of emergency responders working desperately to administer CPR to victims lying on the street.  

Dozens of those who were injured or killed reportedly suffered cardiac arrests.  

At least 19 of those are foreign nationals. 

South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol declared a week of national mourning and after visiting the site earlier today said that the deadly stampede ‘should not have happened’.

‘In the center of Seoul, a tragedy and disaster occurred that should not have happened,’ Yoon said in a national address, vowing to ‘thoroughly investigate’ the incident and ensure it could never happen again.

Reports from last night also detail how some revelers continued to party in the neighborhood after the crush — despite desperate pleas from the police to go home.