Creator Shares Life-Saving Trick To Use If You Get Caught In A ‘Crowd Crush’ Following Switzerland Tragedy. Does It Work?

The names stick with you: Hillsborough. Astroworld. Itaewon. Each one represents a tragedy where people gathered to celebrate—at a soccer match, a concert, a Halloween party—only to become trapped in deadly crowd crushes.

Now, a TikTok video explaining the deadly mechanics of crowd crushes has gone viral, and what this creator’s teaching people might just save lives.

How To Survive Crowd Crush

In a viral video with more than 2.1 million views, content creator @archive.jupiter explained the deadly mechanics of crowd crushes and a simple technique that could save your life.

“While everyone is talking about the fire at the resort in Switzerland, now is a good time to learn this,” the text overlay begins.

He says that when large crowds try to exit an enclosed space quickly, a crowd crush can occur.

“In a crowd crush, THE THING THAT IS MOST LIKELY TO KILL YOU IS COMPRESSIVE ASPHYXIATION,” the video explains.

The TikToker breaks down the mechanics: When you breathe in, your chest expands. When you breathe out, it contracts. In a tightly packed crowd, available space fills almost instantly. Once the crush reaches a critical density, something terrifying happens.

“Compressive asphyxiation occurs when a space is packed so tightly that once you exhale, you no longer have room to breathe in again,” the video states.

According to @archive.jupiter, your lungs deflate during a normal exhale, but the pressure from bodies surrounding you prevents your chest from re-expanding. You can’t draw another breath. Within minutes, you lose consciousness and could die.

His solution is simple: a defensive posture that creates a crucial pocket of space.

“AT THE FIRST SIGN OF A CROWD CRUSH, THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO IS RAISE YOUR HANDS TO YOUR CHEST,” the video instructs in all caps. “THIS WILL CREATE A SPACE FOR YOUR LUNGS TO EXPAND INTO, PREVENTING YOU FROM SUFFOCATING.”

By bringing your hands up to your chest—similar to a boxer’s defensive stance—you create a small buffer zone. Your arms act as structural supports, maintaining space around your ribcage even when surrounded by crushing pressure from all sides. This allows your lungs to continue expanding and contracting with each breath.

“On that note, my heart goes out to those affected by this tragedy. I have no words to express how sorry I am for what you’ve gone through,” he added in the caption.

What Happened At The Swiss Resort

The tragedy that sparked the viral video went down early Thursday morning at Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, a Swiss ski resort. Forty people died, and 119 were injured when fire tore through the packed venue during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

According to The Associated Press, sparkling candles on top of champagne bottles got too close to the ceiling and ignited the whole place. The flames spread fast, and the wooden ceiling collapsed.

With it being a basement nightclub, with a flight of stairs and a narrow door, everyone was trying to get out at once, causing a crowd surge. Panicked people smashed windows to escape, some already gravely injured.

The burns were so severe that bodies couldn’t be identified without DNA samples from families.

How To Survive A Crowd Crush

The TikToker’s chest protection technique isn’t wrong, but crowd safety experts say there’s a lot more you should know if you ever find yourself packed in too tight.

Mehdi Moussaïd, a research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development who studies crowd behavior, shared survival strategies with KQED after deadly crowd crushes in Indonesia and South Korea. And his advice might save your life.

1. Get out early, or don’t get out at all. Once you’re feeling the pressure, it’s basically too late. If you start feeling uncomfortable but can still move, leave.
2. Know what dangerous density actually feels like. Five people per square meter? You’re good. Six? Getting sketchy. Eight? People are getting hurt. Here’s the test: If people are touching both your shoulders at once, you’re at six or above. Time to go.
3. Create breathing room with your arms. People die in crowd crushes from lack of oxygen since their lungs literally can’t expand. Hold your arms out in front of your chest to create a pocket of space.
4. Never push back. It’s all chain reactions. You push someone, they push someone else, it hits a wall, and that pressure wave comes screaming back at you. Feel a push? Just move with it.
5. Walls are death traps. Most people die or get injured near walls and solid barriers. The crowd wave crushes you against them with nowhere to go. Stay away from anything solid.
6. Do not fall. Once you’re down in a packed crowd, you’re probably not getting back up. Plus you become the obstacle everyone else trips over.
7. Help the people around you. Kindness spreads in crowds just like panic does. If you help your neighbors, they’ll help theirs, and suddenly everyone’s a little safer.

Commenters React

“Well done for letting people know. This could save a lot of lives,” a top comment read.

“Also, if there is a fire or loud commotion…leave instantly! Do NOT video or look around waiting for someone to tell you what to do!!!!” a person suggested.

“Still can’t handle concert crowds after astroworld,” another wrote.

BroBible reached out to @archive.jupiter for comment via TikTok direct message and comment.