From bringing in medical specialists to looking after the
victims' families, Beijing's municipal government has moved to help
victims of a Lantern Festival incident that left dozens dead and
wounded.
Thirty-seven people were killed and 15 were injured around 7:45
pm Thursday during a festival gathering that attracted 30,000
people in Beijing's Miyun County.
As people crowded in Mihong Park to celebrate the Lantern
Festival, one spectator stumbled on a bridge in the park. The
stumble started a chain reaction that resulted in a stampede that
caused many others to fall and be trampled. Many were suffocated to
death, witnesses said.
Of the 37 people killed, 27 were women. The victims range in age
from seven to 68 years old.
Most lived in Miyun County, said sources from the county
government.
Bodies of the victims were sent to the Miyun County Funeral
Parlor by Friday morning.
The 15 injured were out of danger on Friday, said sources with
the municipal government.
The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health mobilized a troop of 44
medical workers and 22 ambulances to the Miyun County Hospital,
where all of the 15 injured were sent.
"We have arranged the best experts in chest surgery, orthopedics
and neurosurgery in Beijing to take part in the medical treatment,"
Jin Dapeng, director of the local health bureau said yesterday.
Experts include Wang Chen, director of the Beijing Chaoyang
Hospital and Tian Wei, director of the Beijing Jishuitan Hospital,
a renowned hospital for orthopedics.
"They will stay at the county hospital until all of the injured
recover," he said.
None of them are in need of surgery. They suffered from soft
tissue injuries, said sources.
Another nine people who were slightly injured were treated
Friday morning.
No decisions have been made on compensation for the families of
the people killed, said Jia Haijiang, spokesman for the Miyun
county government.
Meanwhile, five of the victims insured by Pingan Insurance
received payments of 162,000 yuan (US$20,000) in total by
Friday.
A headquarter to handle accident-related issues was set up by
Miyun County.
Over 300 governmental staff were assigned to deal with the
fallout of the tragedy.
Relatives of the 37 victims are now living in three hotels in
the county. Every one is getting help from between three and five
workers assigned to deal with their needs, said sources with the
local government.
Ambulances were posted outside the hotels in case of
emergency.
An investigation into incident is ongoing.
President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have called for the
utmost efforts to save the injured and urged an investigation into
the accident.
Beijing's Acting Mayor Wang Qishan called urban districts and
suburban counties as well as local work units conduct thorough
safety inspections and root out hidden risks.
Wang especially stressed safety inspections of accident-prone
sectors and areas such as transportation, coal mines, chemical
plants, gas stations and firecracker factories.
Wang also urged inspections on public places such as hotels,
department stores, cinemas, parks, buses and railway stations and
subways.
`I was told my daughter had died'
Bao Yueming took his two children to the Minyun Lantern Festival
gathering on Thursday night, but brought back only his son.
He has lost his 10-year-old daughter forever.
The girl -- beautiful little Bao Jingying -- died on the night
that marks the end of China's traditional Lunar New Year.
She suffocated in a crush of people atop of the arch bridge at
the Mihong Park.
Her sad, 38-year-old father looked stunned at everything
happening around him yesterday at the Minyun County Hospital, where
15 injured people remained. He couldn't say anything to anybody,
and held a quilt over his head.
Meanwhile, his wife, 32-year-old Li Louhua, sobbed loudly in the
ward.
Both suffered leg injuries in the accident.
The couple's 5-year-old son drank milk from a plastic bag as he
sat on his mother's bed yesterday. He is still too young to
understand the sudden tragedy.
The boy is free from any injuries because his father heroically
lifted him overhead after a visitor to the park stumbled on the
bridge, saving the child from the maelstrom of confusion as 37
people were crushed by the oncoming throng.
"We were on the way back home then. I took the hands of my
daughter," Li Louhua muttered through tears.
The arch -- called Rainbow Bridge -- is an important passage to
the outside, the Olympic Park, an open area for residents.
"It is my husband that took my daughter to hospital since I
couldn't move at that time. My leg was broken. Then I was told my
daughter had died," she said, sobbing.
"She died beside me.
"Why was there no policeman to guarantee the order? Why? There
are so many people in the park, maybe tens of thousand!" she
said.
The couple, locals of East China's Anhui Province, came to
Beijing to work as housefitters over 10 years ago.
Families of the dead and injured, are at the hospital.
Authorities also arranged for them to stay at three hotels in the
Miyun County.
One five-member family had just one survivor.
Some injured children were left alone at the hospital since all
adults had to leave to deal with the funeral arrangements.
A 17-year-old girl lay on her hospital bed in Miyun yesterday,
with swollen legs and swollen eyes.
"My grandmother died in the accident. My mother is at the
crematorium with her now, although my mum herself was seriously
injured," she said, declining to give her name.
According to Fang Yang, a local woman, a Lantern Festival
gathering at the park was held last year for the first time.
"But that lantern exhibition was held in the street. So the
conditions were not that bad although there were numerous visitors
then as well," Fang said.
"The bridge is too steep for so many people to walk up," she
said.
Inside, in the hospital lobby, bodies lay covered with white
sheets. Police barred all visitors from the building while
ambulances hurried back and forth. Distraught relatives emerged
through the main doors.
"It's a horrible scene in there. There are more than 30 bodies
inside," said Zhao Jingfu, whose sister-in-law died. "My heart is
in pain," he said, fighting back tears.
The Lantern Festival is a traditional part of the Chinese Spring
Festival celebrations. Chinese have been marking the dawn of this
year's celebration of the Year of the Monkey since January 22, and
Thursday night was the final night. It is marked by a celebration
of lanterns and lights in communities nationwide.
Miyun County is about 65 kilometers northeast of urban Beijing.
It is the site of Miyun Reservoir, one of the largest in China and
a key water supply for the Chinese capital.
(China Daily February 7, 2004)