China rang in the new year in a tragic way after a stampede along Shanghai’s historic Bund waterfront resulted in 36 deaths and scores of injuries. It happened in Chen Yi Square on the west bank of the Bund, a popular spot for young Shanghai residents to celebrate the coming year. In fact, most of the victims were young adults attending university, with the youngest victim listed as a 12 year-old boy.

Of the 49 people injured in the incident, 24 have been treated and released from the hospital. Seven patients remain in serious condition, with one in critical condition.

Early Weibo reports said the crowd started to move en masse when US dollars appeared to have been thrown from a rooftop by these people, a story that has since been refuted by government sources.

Stills taken from video show people falling down at the bottom of a set of stairs to a viewing platform; it appears the flow of pedestrian traffic coming down from the upper level was too strong, leading to many people being trampled.

Here is an eyewitness video that shows the chaos and panic at the scene; a translation of the on-screen text appears below (WARNING: turn down your speakers):

At 11:30pm on December 31, 2014, people began converging (at the Bund in Shanghai).
At 11:34pm, people at the bottom of a flight of stairs (to an observation deck) were pushed down.
At 11:40pm, several young people enlisted everyone to begin chanting: Go back! More people joined in the chanting, and the flow of people pouring down from the upper stairs began to slow.
At 11:50pm, the volume of people on the upper level has begun to wane. After freeing up some space, work began on helping the (pile of people), from top to bottom.
As of 2pm on January 1, this trampling incident has caused 36 fatalities. 2015 has not even begun, and yet the mourning for lost life has already started.

At a press conference held on January 1, the Huangpu branch of the Shanghai Public Security Bureau “expressed regret over their failure to effectively intervene” when the flow of pedestrian traffic on the Bund dramatically increased at 11:30pm.

Deputy commander of the branch Cai Lixin said police “cut through forcibly to enter the heart of the crowd and found some people had ‘physical discomfort’,” a statement that supports eyewitness claims of police brutality as a way to control the crowd. (emphasis added)

Some of the confusion could have been regarding an annual laser show that is usually staged on the Bund each year, but was cancelled this year. Local authorities told Xinhua that there were no official New Year celebration activities organized on Wednesday night, however other reports said just six days before, the laser show was slated to happen even though it was cancelled sometime between then and New Year’s Eve.

An annual tradition starting in 2011 as the “4D Laser Show”, the cancellation of this year’s “5D Legendary Laser Show” was largely unknown to the masses of young people who went out to the Bund to see it.

As well, this year would have marked substantial changes to the show. Previously free to the public, this year’s “5D Legendary Laser Show” would have charged tickets for premium viewing areas and moved to the “Source of the Bund”, an obscure area that may be unknown to seasoned Shanghai residents.

Cai said the reason police didn’t restrict the pedestrian traffic is because based on their estimates, it wasn’t warranted. The police said the Bund is a public place, so it’s difficult to restrict pedestrian traffic.

No roads or subways stations were closed on the Bund for New Year’s Eve. Pedestrian traffic along several side streets leading up to the Bund were regulated, but no such precautions were taken at the Bund, where throngs of people converged without barriers up and down the street.

A memorial was held for the victims on January 2, when bystanders gathered to watch and take pictures of mourners paying their respects to the deceased.

Photos: CCTV, People’s Daily Online, Beijing Youth Report, Sina Video