KENNESAW, Ga. — A student at Kennesaw State University was among one of the more than 150 people killed in a deadly Halloween crowd surge in Seoul, South Korea, the school announced Sunday.
Steven Blesi was one of the 153 reported victims killed in the crush, according to school officials.
Blesi, a 20-year-old international business major, was one of 11 reported KSU students on the study abroad trip to South Korea. The other 10 students are safe, the school said.
His dad, Steve Blesi, posted to Twitter on Saturday saying that he was "in the area of stampede in Seoul" and they had still not heard from him. On Sunday, his family received confirmation of his death.
"He was an incredible young man, our hearts are broken. How can this happen?" his dad tweeted shortly after.
Steven leaves behind a brother, Joey, who Steve said via Twitter he was picking up from college on Sunday.
"We have to be strong for our other son who I will pick up at college today. Somehow we have to press on, but our lives have forever changed."
Steve described how he kept calling his son's phone after hearing the devastating news out of Seoul, and eventually a police officer answered Steven's phone to deliver news no parent should ever hear: Steven's body was one of more than 150 found dead.
Steve said that he and his family talked to Steven's friends after the crush and discovered that their son was trying to choose whether to stay in the mass of people when other people were leaving, according to a report.
Steven wasn't the only American life lost in the crush. Anne Gieske, a nursing student from northern Kentucky and enrolled at the University of Kentucky, died in the crowd surge, President Eli Capilouto said in a statement. She was studying abroad in an education program, according to school officials.
Kennesaw State released a statement Sunday on the tragic death of Steven on both Twitter and Facebook.
“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,” Kennesaw State University President Kathy Schwaig said. “We have been in contact with Steven’s family and have offered all available resources of the University to them.”
The devastating crush happened when a huge Halloween party, consisting of mostly young adults, surged into a narrow alley in a nightlife district in Seoul.
It still remains unclear what led to the crowd surge into the downhill alley, investigators said. Witnesses said people fell on each other "like dominoes," and some victims were bleeding from their noses and mouths while being given CPR.
The school stated they have made counseling support available to students who who have been impacted by the tragic event.