Antonescu's reaction was sanguinary, and a collective blame was placed on the Odessa Jews. The community was decimated during what became known as the "1941 Odessa massacre". As a witness to this slaughter, Pântea noted that 450 Jewish people were hanged on the first day, others were randomly shot, and still others were rounded up, their fate to be determined by General Nicolae Macici. Pântea thereafter worked to persuade Macici that the killing quota imposed by Antonescu was excessive. On October 23, he and Macici asked Governor Alexianu to turn back the column of Jews sent on a death march. They registered only partial success, as some of the deportees returned: according to Pântea, all but 2,000 survived the experience. However, researchers of the events record a much higher death toll. According to them, Romanian troops randomly murdered some 20,000 or 30,000 of those sent on convoys.