11 officials punished over Shanghai stampede

Eleven officials in Shanghai were punished over the New Year's Eve stampede that left 36 people dead and 49 injured.

Four officials -- Zhou Wei, Communist Party chief of Huangpu District, his deputy Peng Song, also district governor, Zhou Zheng, deputy district governor and Huangpu's public security chief and Chen Qi, deputy police chief of the district, were removed from their posts, according the decision of Shanghai municipal authorities.

Seven other officials in tourism, public security and urban management, received disciplinary punishments, said the decision announced Wednesday at a press conference.

At the press conference, Zhou Bo, vice mayor of Shanghai, expressed deep condolences for those affected by the incident and apologized to stampede victims and their families on behalf of the municipal Communist Party of China committee and government.

The deadly stampede happened at 11:35 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2014, when people assembled on Shanghai's historic riverfront walk, the Bund, to usher in the new year.

It was lack of public security that caused heavy casualties and serious consequences, said an investigation report released at the conference. Inadequate prevention and preparation for the mass activity and poor on-site management should be blamed.

No risk assessment was made for the change of the New Year countdown venue, it added.

The district tourism bureau released information on the New Year countdown activity on Dec. 30 and the publicity of the event was late and insufficient, the report said.

The security staff were very insufficient as only about 500 police and urban management personnel were deployed in the area.