New Year's Eve stampede kills 35 in Shanghai

Beijing, Jan 1: New Year's celebrations in Shanghai turned tragic as 35 people were killed and 42 injured in a stampede at the city's famous tourist destination of Bund - the worst disaster to hit China in recent years.

The celebrations went astray at the Chenyi Square of Shanghai's popular riverfront Bund area at around 11:35 pm (local time) when people reportedly rushed to collect coupons resembling US Dollars, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

A witness said some coupons that looked like "dollar bill" were being thrown from a building's third-floor window near the Bund and people standing along the river bank started scrambling for them. Many of the injured were students, the report said.

It was not immediately clear what triggered the crowd crush. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

The city administration has set up a working team for rescue operations and to deal with the aftermath.

The famous Bund area is a popular spot for New Year's Eve festivities in Shanghai and it normally attracts about 3,00,000 people on the countdown.

PTI