A stampede by New Year's revellers in Shanghai's historic riverfront area killed 35 people and injured dozens more, the city government said early Thursday.
The crush happened in crowded conditions shortly before midnight on December 31, as people packed the Bund district to welcome the New Year, according to a local government statement.
The Bund, renowned for its pre-1949 architecture, is the former financial district of China's commercial hub and now a popular tourist destination, packed with high-end restaurants and expensive boutiques.
The cause of the accident was under investigation, the statement said, adding city government leaders had called for "every effort" to care for the 42 injured.
A photo on the website of the Shanghai Daily newspaper showed what appeared to be dead and injured people lying on the ground with crowds still in the background.
The injured have been taken to at least three local hospitals, the Shanghai government said in a separate statement.
Although people have traditionally flocked to the Bund to celebrate the New Year, the district government overseeing the area has more recently hosted a performance to mark the occasion, local media reported.
The site was moved to a new location on the Bund for last night's celebration, specifically out of concerns about over-crowding, after nearly 300,000 people turned out last year, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said on its website.
Most large gatherings in China are carefully controlled by authorities but the country has seen other incidents in which overcrowding has caused panic and deaths.
Last year, 14 people -- some of them children -- were killed and 10 injured in a stampede that broke out as food was being distributed at a mosque in China's Ningxia region.
Also last year, six students were killed in a stampede at a primary school in Kunming city in the southwest after the accidental blocking of a stairway corridor.
A stampede by New Year’s revellers in Shanghai’s historic riverfront area killed 35 people and injured dozens more, the city government said early Thursday.
The crush happened in crowded conditions shortly before midnight on December 31, as people packed the Bund district to welcome the New Year, according to a local government statement.
The Bund, renowned for its pre-1949 architecture, is the former financial district of China’s commercial hub and now a popular tourist destination, packed with high-end restaurants and expensive boutiques.
The cause of the accident was under investigation, the statement said, adding city government leaders had called for “every effort” to care for the 42 injured.
A photo on the website of the Shanghai Daily newspaper showed what appeared to be dead and injured people lying on the ground with crowds still in the background.
The injured have been taken to at least three local hospitals, the Shanghai government said in a separate statement.
Although people have traditionally flocked to the Bund to celebrate the New Year, the district government overseeing the area has more recently hosted a performance to mark the occasion, local media reported.
The site was moved to a new location on the Bund for last night’s celebration, specifically out of concerns about over-crowding, after nearly 300,000 people turned out last year, the Shanghai Daily newspaper said on its website.
Most large gatherings in China are carefully controlled by authorities but the country has seen other incidents in which overcrowding has caused panic and deaths.
Last year, 14 people — some of them children — were killed and 10 injured in a stampede that broke out as food was being distributed at a mosque in China’s Ningxia region.
Also last year, six students were killed in a stampede at a primary school in Kunming city in the southwest after the accidental blocking of a stairway corridor.
