At least 36 people, including 25 women, were trampled to death and 48 others injured at the iconic waterfront area in China's financial hub when New Year revellers apparently rushed to pick up fake dollar bills causing a massive stampede in one of the worst tragedies to hit the country in recent years.
Minutes before the New Year countdown, the brightest night turned into tragedy yesterday when people rushed to see a live show at a small crowded place in the city's popular riverfront Bund area, police said.
The latest mishap at about 11:35 PM local time (21:05 IST) came as the cosmopolitan city's worst disaster since 58 people died in an apartment building fire in 2010.
The trigger for the stampede is yet to be confirmed but some witnesses and state media said it was at least partly caused when merrymakers tried picking up coupons that looked like dollar bills thrown from a bar in a building.
A video of the tragedy released by state-run CCTV today showed thousands jostling to enter a narrow building to watch a live show not heeding to desperate collective shouts from a group of people from the balcony to move away to ease the situation.
Witnesses said a large number of people rushed upstairs while those already there began moving down through narrow steps. An injured person said as a result, those moving up fell down, causing a huge pile of people that led to heavy casualties. Those who fell were trampled on by others in panic.
The coupon looked like a USD 100 banknote with "M18" printed in the middle, a reference to the bar of the same name on the Bund. Phone calls to the bar were immediately hung up after getting through, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
There were also questions about poor preparations by police as over three lakh people attended New Year festivities last year at the same venue, creating a nightmarish security scenario.
The stampede was a "wake-up call that the world's second- largest economy is still a developing country which has fragile social management", Xinhua said in an unusually critical commentary.
At least 36 people, 25 of them young women, were trampled to death. The ages of the first 10 identified fatalities ranged from 16 to 36. Forty-eight others were hospitalised with the condition of 13 of them stated to be serious, it said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping ordered an immediate investigation into the incident and called for proper treatment of the injured. Such incidents during celebrations should be prevented, he said in a message.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said safety for public places, particularly during holidays should be ensured.
