37 dead after stampede at Chinese festival

At least 37 people were killed in a stampede at a lantern festival celebration marking the end of China’s Lunar New Year in a town outside the Chinese capital of Beijing today.

Leaders have ordered a full investigation.

Many of the victims suffocated, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

Wu Kun, a spokesman for the Beijing city government, said: “There could even be more people dead. It’s still a very confusing scene up there.”

Officials from President Hu Jintao on down immediately expressed “deep concern,” and the mayor of Beijing and the region’s Communist Party chief went to the scene to supervise.

The immediate involvement of the top men from China’s new generation of leadership reflected their promise to keep their people safe – whether it be from economic downturns, subversion or preventable disasters.

The accident happened in Miyun County, a far-flung northern suburb of Beijing. Wu said it occurred at 7.45pm local time (1145 GMT) in Mihong Park, a popular gathering spot just outside the town of Miyun, when someone tripped on a bridge crowded with revellers and caused a chain reaction.

“One person fell down on a grate in the park and caused many people to fall down. There was a stampede,” Wu said. ”It was a lot of people. I’m not sure how many. These things are packed,” he told The Associated Press.

“All of the tourists in the lantern exhibition have departed safely,” he said.

Ge Jing, a street trader selling roast meat, said he feared for his family as early as the afternoon because the park and the bridge were filling up rapidly with people.

“It didn’t feel very stable. I told my wife and child not to come tonight because I knew it would be too crowded,” he said. “Such a terrible accident.”

Inside nearby Miyun County Hospital, bodies lay covered with white sheets in the lobby.

“It’s a horrible scene in there. There are more than 30 dead bodies inside,” said Zhao Jingfu, whose sister-in-law died. “My heart is in pain,” he said, fighting back tears.

Premier Wen Jiabao ordered local and regional authorities to find the cause of the accident happened and “to try their best to save the injured and make suitable arrangements for the families of the dead.”

The Lantern Festival is a celebration that marks the last night of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. Chinese have been mark the dawn of the Year of the Monkey since January 22, and Thursday night was the final night – a celebration of lanterns and lights marked in communities nationwide.

It is not the only disaster to hit during what is also known as Spring Festival.

Hundreds of Chinese have been killed in car accidents across the country during the festivities as hundreds of millions travel to ancestral homes and back to major cities. Others have been maimed or killed while setting off celebratory fireworks, a popular Lunar New Year pastime.