Here more on that tragic event:
Shanghai New Year's Eve stampede leaves at least 35 dead and 42 injured after thousands 'surged forward to grab fake DOLLARS thrown from a rooftop'
- At least 35 people have been killed during a stampede in Shanghai as they waited for a New Years Eve countdown
- 42 have been reported injured, and were taken to Shanghai General Hospital to be treated
- The stampede may have been caused when the crowd surged forward trying to grab fake money thrown from a building in the square
- The Bund area where the stampede happened is notorious for congestion on New Years because of the 3D light display just before midnight
- Last year over 300,000 people packed into the area, spilling into the streets when public transport was shut down over safety concerns
- Social media pictures show people lying on the ground and being resuscitated while police ring the area
- The countdown had been cancelled earlier in the day out of fears of congestion and to discourage as many people from attending
At least 35 people have been killed in a stampede during the New Year's celebrations in Shanghai, which may have been caused by the crowd rushing to grab fake money thrown from the balcony of a building.
China's state-run Xinhua News Agency cited the Shanghai's government in saying that at least another 42 people have been injured and have been taken to Shanghai General Hospital.
The deaths and injuries occurred in Chen Yi Square, in city's waterfront Bund area, which attracted 300,000 people last New Years Eve and is notorious for causing severe congestion at major events.
A stampede during Shanghai's New Year celebrations has allegedly killed 35 people and injured another 42
Official news service, Xinhua, reported that the stampede began at 11.35pm local time, and a witness has claimed the deathly stampede occurred when people in the crowd rushed to grab fake money, reported Business Insider.
Xinhua news agency reported that many of the injured were students, and that President Xi Jinping had requested an immediate inquest into the cause of the incident.
Distressed relatives congregated at Shanghai General Hospital, reportedly showing frustration over withheld information.
'Many relatives have asked to go inside and asked the hospital to give us a list of the injured, including the conscious and unconscious ones who are being treated in there, but nobody got back to us,' said one relative, identified as Fran.
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
'Six hours have passed, but we still don’t have any information,' she said.
At Shanghai Number One People's Hospital, relatives of some of the injured were prevented from entering by almost 20 police vehicles.
'We don't know what is happening but we can't get in to see him,' said the uncle of an injured 12-year-old boy, reported 9News.
Social media posts show at least one person doing chest compressions on a shirtless person, while another lies on the ground nearby.
Another photo shows the area ringed by police, sectioning off the Bund area.
Officials say at least 35 people have been killed at the New Year event in the bund area in the city
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.
Pictures show family members clashing with security personnel at Shanghai General Hospital.
The Huangpu District government announced earlier in the day that the New Years Eve countdown show had been moved to the Bund Origin area to help improve traffic flow and avoid congestion, reported Shanghai Daily.
Images released from earlier in the day on Weibo showed crowds gathered and packed tightly into the area.
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
The 3D laser display is beamed on nearby buildings just before the countdown to the new year
The laser display was scheduled to last ten minutes, ending with the midnight fireworks.
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.
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 to last ten minutes, ending with the midnight fireworks.
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
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.
Angry family members clash with security personnel in a hospital where some of the victims were sent
Security personnel use chairs to barricade themselves against family members of the stampede victims
'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.
The light show was 'civilisation' themed, decorated with a scheme of bronze, blue and white porcelain, and terra cotta.
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 aftermath of the stampede shows a desolate street strewn with rubbish and trampled belongings
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