An inquest beginning today hopes to establish a clearer picture of how a 19-year-old was crushed at a Dunedin flat party

Sophia Crestani was among at least 300 people who crowded into a Dundas Street villa in October 2019.

Her death will be examined over the next five days, with evidence from partygoers and the flats' tenants.

Mother, Elspeth McMillan, told RNZ she wants to know how the party was allowed to go ahead.

She says fitting more than 300 young people into a private dwelling was a disaster waiting to happen.