Shanghai Cancels New Year Celebrations as 36 People Die in Stampede:Reports

Chinese President Xi Jinping instructed the authorities to "do everything in their power" to help the injured and launch an investigation of the tragedy. Reportedly, the stampede could have been provoked by unidentified people throwing fake dollar bills from a nearby building.

MOSCOW, January 1 (Sputnik) — Shanghai authorities have canceled all New Year celebrations after a fatal stampede in downtown Shanghai that killed 36 people just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, South China Morning Post reported Thursday.

According to the newspaper, the country's President Xi Jinping instructed the authorities to "do everything in their power" to help the injured and launch an investigation of the stampede's cause.

Earlier in the day, media reported that the stampede could have been provoked by unidentified people throwing fake dollar bills from a nearby building.

According to the latest estimates, 47 people were injured in the brutal stampede, that occurred less than half an hour before the clock struck midnight.

People watch a light show before a stampede incident occurred at the New Year's celebration on the Bund, a waterfront area in central Shanghai December 31, 2014

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