Georgia native a victim in deadly Seoul crowd surge

“We knew that him and his friends, they were going to go out, because they just finished midterms,” Steve told WSB. “I texted him through WhatsApp because he’s over there and said ‘I know you’re out and about, but be safe, I love you.’”

Steve said not long after he texted his son, he received a call from his brother asking if he had heard what happened.

“We started calling his phone through the WhatsApp, over and over, just kept calling for like two hours, where finally a police officer answered,” Steve Blesi told WSB.

He would later learn that his son, Steven Blesi II, was among the many killed.

Steven Blesi was an international business major and was one of 11 students from KSU in South Korea as part of the program, Kennesaw State University Officials told WSB. The other 10 students were reported safe.

“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,” said Kennesaw State University President Kathy Schwaig. “We have been in contact with Steven’s family and have offered all available resources of the University to them.”

According to The Washington Post, Steven Blesi was a Georgia native from Marietta and was a junior at KSU.

The university said it has made counseling support available to students impacted by the tragedy.

Around 100,000 people attended the festivities in Seoul, which was the first no-mask Halloween event since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the BBC.

The crowd surge was South Korea’s deadliest disaster since 2014, when 304 people, primarily high school students, died in a ferry sinking.