No new year's celebration in Shanghai one year after stampede

A man kneels down at Chen Yi Square in Shanghai on Jan 3, 2015 to pay tribute to those killed in a stampede on the last day of 2014 with the financial district of Shanghai in the background. [Photo/IC]

One year after a tragic stampede claimed 36 lives and injured more people, the Shanghai authorities cancelled all new year's celebrations in the city's major tourist attractions.

Outdoor celebrations on New Year's Eve will not be held at crowded places including Nanjing Road, Yuyuan Garden, and the Bund, while traffic will be controlled and tube stations be shut down temporarily, according to the Government of Huangpu District of Shanghai.

Traffic controls will be implemented at the Bund, a historic riverfront walk where the deadly stampede took place on the last day of 2014, while nearby tube stations – Nanjing East Road and parts of Xintiandi, will be shut down from 8 pm on Dec 31 to 1 am the next day. Meanwhile, the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel and the cross-Huangpu River ferry service will also be halted.

The traffic ban will not affect public service vehicles while bus services will be diverted, said the government.

The deadly stampede one year ago happened on a set of concrete steps about half an hour before midnight when people assembled on the Bund to usher in the new year. Three dozen people, including a 12-year-old boy, were trampled and suffocated.

Poor risk assessment and emergency response were blamed for the stampede, and four top officials, including the Huangpu District's Party chief, government chief and police chief, were removed from office.