A stampede during Shanghai's New Year celebrations killed 35 people and injured another 42, the Associated Press reported, citing China's Xinhau News Agency
At
least 35 people have been killed in a stampede during the New Year's
celebrations in Shanghai, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency is
reporting.
The report cites the city's government in saying that at least another 42 people have been injured.
The
deaths and injuries occurred at the city's riverfront Bund area, which
has become notorious for being jammed with spectators during major
events.
One Xinhua photo from the scene shows at least one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless person while other people lay on the ground nearby.
Another photo shows the area ringed by police.
South China Morning Post reporter George Chen posted to Twitter that the stampede occurred right before midnight.
'As a native of Shanghai, I believe this is the worst (very rare) stampede incident in Shanghai history in recent decades. Shock!!' he said via Twitter.
A stampede happens during a New Year celebrations in the bund area in east China's Shanghai early Thursday morning local time
Chaos: The cause of the stampede is not yet know
Crushed: A New Year’s Eve stampede has killed 35 people in Shanghai, according to Chinese state media
The cause of the stampede is not clear.
Local media reported at Christmas that an official countdown at the Bund had been canceled this year because of overcrowding last year.
Crowds of over 300,000 people attended last year's countdown, growing from 100,000 when the event was organised three years ago, reports English Eastday.
Local media reports that in the past two years the Bund was severely congested by as early as 9pm.
The significant rise in popularity area as a New Years destination over the last three years is believed to be a result of the 3D laser display beamed on nearby buildings just before the countdown to the new year.
The laser display was scheduled ten minutes, ending with the midnight fireworks.
Scene: A picture published by Xinhua showed police lined up around the event, trying to calm people down
Officials say at least 35 people have been killed at the New Year event in the bund area in the city
Graphic: Multiple people lay on the ground in some of the pictures, seemingly dead or injured
In 2014 more than 300,000 people flocked to the area, causing an havoc in the city when a lack of adequate public transport forced revelers to walk home.
The closest train to the Bund, the Nanjing Road E. subway station on Line 2, was closed out of safety concerns, pushing those who attended the countdown into private vehicles and onto the streets.
Zhao Ziyu, an office worker in Shanghai, said that the cancellation had been a disappointment after the events of last year.
'I spent two hours in a bar after the countdown. I still did not get a taxi and had to walk all the way home,' she said.
'The show itself was very good — a party for citizens. I still think they should find a way to disperse the crowd.'
The cancellation of the countdown this year is believed to have to been a preemptive move to dissuade as many people from attending.
However the famed light show continued as planned, with a further private light display held in the Waitanyuan area at the intersection of the Suzhou Creek and the Huangpu River.
Shock: A victim's friend covers his face as he waits outside a hospital where injured people of a stampede incident are treated in Shanghai
Security personnel and policemen stand next to an entrance to a hospital where injured people of a stampede incident are treated in Shanghai
Relatives of a victim hug as they wait at a hospital where injured people of a stampede incident are treated in Shanghai January 1, 2015
At least 35 people were killed and 42 were injured in a stampede during a New Year's celebration on the Bund, a waterfront area in central Shanghai
Shanghai has a population of over 14 million people.
It is unclear how many people were at the event, however reports said last year's event attracted over 300,000.