At Least 35 Dead And 42 Injured In Shanghai New Year’s Stampede

At least 35 people were killed and 42 were injured in a stampede during a New Year’s celebration on the Bund, the famed waterfront tourist area in central Shanghai.

According to CCTV America, Sina News stated that masses of crowds in Chen Yi Square on the Bund led to the stampede. Authorities are currently working to rescue and aid the wounded. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

The official Xinhua news service reported that the stampede began at 11:35 pm local time, but it was not immediately clear what triggered the stampede.

Photographs posted online showed densely packed crowds of revelers along the Bund, one of the most famed tourist areas in Shanghai that runs along the bank of the Huangpu River.

In some photographs, rescue workers were seen trying to resuscitate victims lying on the pavement while ambulances waited nearby.

According to Shanghai Daily, the city’s annual New Year’s Eve 3D laser display on the Bund was cancelled this year, after taking place for the last three years.

One week before the New Year, Shanghai authorities cancelled the event which attracted nearly 300,000 people last year, reportedly due to crowd control issues.

A toned down version of the celebration was held at several locations around the city instead.

[Image via Twitter and CCTV America]