Shanghai stampede officials 'held accountable' for accident that killed 36, says mayor
The Shanghai stampede on the Bund exposed failures in the system, says Mayor Yang Xiong
The Shanghai New Year's Eve crush that left 36 dead showed "critical neglect", the mayor of the mainland's commercial hub said yesterday, while insisting that those responsible had been held accountable.
New year revellers, many of them young women, were trampled after flocking to the historic waterfront area known as the Bund because of severe overcrowding and the lack of adequate safety measures.
"The New Year's Eve incident has exposed critical neglect and hazards in Shanghai's safety infrastructure," Mayor Yang Xiong told the annual meeting of the Shanghai people's congress, the local legislature.
"Those responsible have been held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," he said, reading from a prepared text. "We share people's grief and acknowledge guilt and responsibility."
City officials said on Wednesday that 11 officials were to be punished, with four removed from their posts, most from Huangpu district where the accident took place.
There has been no announcement yet of any intention to seek criminal punishment through the courts.
Relatives of the dead have called for higher, city-level officials to take the blame amid speculation the mayor himself could be implicated.
