Jubilation of New Year turned into grief after a tragedy claimed 35 lives and injured 47 people in China

Jubilation of New Year turned into grief after a tragedy claimed 35 lives and injured 47 people in China. Angry family members conflict with security personnel in a hospital where some of the stampede victims were sent in Shanghai on January 1, 2015. Image Courtesy – Mashable

Thirty-five people died in a stampede in Shanghai. Jubilation of New Year turned into grief and nearly 50 people were injured in that incident when thousands of people had gathered to see in 2015 celebration. The incident took place in the Chenyi Square in the historic riverfront Bund area of Shanghai where the place was jammed by spectators to watch the major event.

According to a social media report, the stampede was prompted by people blocking to pick up fake money which was being thrown from the balcony of a nightclub. The report also said that the people who died in the major disaster, most of them were students, with 25 women.

Xi Jinping, President of the People’s Republic of China, ordered the Shanghai government to find out the causes of the stampede as early as possible. The Shanghai Daily reported that the traditional New Year fireworks display on the Bund area was already postponed in fear of overcrowding.

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A user of ‘Sina Weibo’ a Chinese counterpart of Twitter wrote his experience that there were really too many people. In his word, being squeezed inside the crowd, nobody could move with his own will but only could move with the crowd. Traffic police linked their hands to form a human wall after the stampede, but the wall ruptured by several times.

US photographer Gaby Gabriel said that nobody looked in control and people were crying. The situation seemed to be as helpless for the spectators present there to welcome the New Year. But, jubilation of New Year turned into grief.