A Japanese tourist who survived Saturday night's deadly Halloween crowd crush in South Korea has given a description of the harrowing event.

The woman said she and a friend went to Seoul's Itaewon district to see the location of a drama. Their destination was near the narrow, sloping back street where the crush occurred.

She said they could not move freely while in the packed throng near the bottom of the alley.

She said she was pressed upon from all sides, had difficulty breathing, and sweated so heavily that she felt like she had suffered dehydration.

The woman noted that there were no security guards or other officials to guide revelers. She said she heard people yell in Korean "Don't push!" "Help me!" and "I'm dying!"

She said the crowd was in a mess as many people were trying to push their way to their destinations.

The woman said the crush seemed to have developed just in front of her. She said the crowd, which had been moving forward slowly before the disaster, stopped abruptly. She added that she also heard shouts from up ahead.

The woman said she and her friend sensed danger and managed to turn back and slip out of the crowd.

She said they gingerly proceeded on their way out following the walls so as not to be swallowed up in the throng. She said they also climbed up a waist-high fence to see how the crowd was moving.

The woman said she is full of dread when imagining what would have happened to her if she had been a little closer to the scene of the crush and failed to escape in time. She added she is very sad that many people were involved in the disaster.