new year’s eve 35 killed, 43 hurt in Shanghai panic

Associated Press

SHANGHAI

Thirty-five people died in a stampede during New Year’s celebrations in downtown Shanghai, city officials said today — the worst disaster to hit one of China’s showcase cities in recent years.

A Shanghai government statement said an additional 43 people were injured amid the chaos about a half-hour before midnight.

The official Xinhua News Agency quoted an unidentified witness as saying people had scrambled for coupons that looked like dollar bills that were being thrown out of a third-floor window. It said the cause of the stampede was under investigation.

The deaths and injuries occurred at Shanghai’s popular riverfront Bund area, which often is jammed with spectators for major events.

CCTV America, the U.S. version of state broadcaster China Central Television, posted video of Shanghai streets after the stampede, showing piles of discarded shoes amid the debris.

One photo from the scene shared by Xinhua showed at least one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless man while several other people lay on the ground nearby, amid debris. Another photo showed the area ringed by police.

Last week, the English-language Shanghai Daily reported that the annual New Year’s Eve countdown on the Bund that normally attracts about 300,000 people had been canceled, apparently because of crowd-control issues. The report said a “toned-down” version of the event would take place instead but that it would not be open to the public.

The stampede appeared to be near that area.