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Relatives Speak Out After Shanghai Stampede Kills 36

Family members of those who died criticized the government for failing to prevent the disaster, in which 36 died and 47 were hurt.
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Grieving relatives identified the bodies of loved ones a day after a stampede during New Year's celebrations along Shanghai's historic waterfront area killed 36 people. Some families directed their anger at authorities, accusing them of being unresponsive to their plight and failing to prevent the disaster.

The chaos began about a half-hour before what was supposed to be a joyful celebration of the start of 2015. In the end, dozens were dead and 47 people were hospitalized, including 13 who were seriously injured, according to the Shanghai government. Some of the victims had suffocated, said Xia Shujie, vice president of Shanghai No. 1 People's Hospital.

Seven of the injured had left hospitals by Thursday afternoon. The stampede's cause was still under investigation. A day after the tragedy, some criticized the government, blaming it for failing to keep order at the city's most popular site and for miscommunications with victims' relatives.

"We were told my sister was still being rescued the minute before we were taken to the morgue, where she had been lying dead — clearly for a while," said Cai Jinjin, whose cousin Qi Xiaoyan was among the dead. "There she was, cold and all by herself." Others victims’ relatives complained authorities failed to notify them of the deadly stampede.

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— The Associated Press