[ 2015-01-01 ]

New year starts with celebrations and tragedy
As millions of people around the world welcomed
the new year with massive fireworks displays and
parties, celebrations in Shanghai turned to
tragedy when at least 35 people were killed and
scores injured in a stampede.
Revellers in the heart of the city’s tourist
district were trampled to death and about 40 were
injured when crowds panicked as they gathered to
celebrate the arrival of 2015.
Photographs online showed rescue workers
attempting to resuscitate victims.
The tragedy occurred at about 25 minutes to
midnight on a riverfront area in the city. Chinese
media said that the crush occured after large
crowds from nearby Chenyi square converged on the
Bund, a relatively narrow strip along the Huangpu
River. A large number of police converged on the
area, according to reports.
Shanghai’s police department earlier wrote on
its verified social media account that some
tourists had “fallen over” at the Bund and
urged people to leave the area in an orderly
fashion.
According to the Shanghai Daily, close to 300,000
people turned up for New Year’s Eve celebrations
last year, leading to traffic problems.
Meanwhile, the Shard in London, Europe’s tallest
skyscraper, was again at the centre of the
festivities with a dazzling light display and
western Europe’s highest countdown clock.
Up to 75,000 people gathered on the streets of
Edinburgh for Hogmanay to see performances from
the singer Lily Allen, who headlined the Concert
In The Gardens.
Eleven hours earlier, the show in Sydney Harbour
featured seven tonnes of fireworks and is thought
to have attracted 1.6 million people who saw more
than 10,000 fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and
100,000 pyrotechnic effects. In what is believed
to be a first, drones were used to stream the show
live as they launched from the Harbour Bridge, the
Opera House and several barges in the water.
Dubai aimed to break the world record for the
largest LED-illuminated façade with about 70,000
LED panels wrapped around the world’s tallest
building, the Burj Khalifa.

Source - The Times(UK)

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