A night of revelry and celebration turned chaotic as 35 people were killed and 42 were injured during a stampede at Shanghai’s New Year’s Eve celebration.
A witness who spoke with the state-run news agency said that there was a mad scramble when a bunch of coupons were dropped from the third floor of a building along Shangai’s waterfront, where a massive crowd had gathered. If photos from the scene are any indication, there was an absolutely insane number of people clustered together:
Happy New Year from Shanghai! #Shanghai #newyear#2015#crazy#bund, photo credit to @eastwood_chen!
A photo posted by Jill Tang (@jill810) on Dec 12, 2014 at 11:46am PST
More photos. Deadly stampede during New Year's Day celebration in #Shanghai. 35 reported dead, 40 injured. pic.twitter.com/62E1fn0mm2
— Jim Barnett (@JimBarnettNews) December 31, 2014
Bund at 10 pm 31.12.2014. Welcome to China! 35 people are killed & 42 injured 😱😱😱😱
A photo posted by Alima (@violetblond) on Dec 12, 2014 at 12:48pm PST
The even—held in an area of Shanghai known as the Bund—drew 300,000 people last year, and was possibly going to be canceled over fears about crowd control. Sadly, it seems like those concerns were quite founded.
[via CNN]