A blocked crowd making its way to Shanghai's riverfront esplanade started a stampede that killed 36 people and left 47 others injured on Thursday, according to eyewitness accounts.

A witness identified as Zong told a Shanghai newspaper that those who fell in the crowd rush were trampled on by others in panic. He said the victims did not want to be huddled toward the riverfront area, but they had no choice because a crowd suddenly started to push everyone back and they fell down among layers of buried people.

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Zong added that he only managed to keep his head above the pile of bodies when he started to feel numbness in his legs. Police then pulled people away from one another, said Zong.

The Shanghai information office said the stampede happened at around 11:35 in the evening near the Peace Hotel and Chen Yi Square. The Square lies near the area of the Bund Origin, where a New Year countdown was underway.

Those hurt were rushed to several city hospitals. By 8:00 am yesterday, 46 victims were still in hospital with 14 of them critically injured.

Another stampede witness, Yu Ping, said the group he was with was passing by the square when a huge crowd pushed forward. Police ordered them to move back, but they had nowhere else to go. The witness said the jostling went on around 10 minutes while some women fainted and fell.

One Weibo photo showed at least one person helping a shirtless man to breathe, while several others lie helpless on the ground close to debris.

Families of still unidentified victims were asked to give their information to authorities.

China's President Xi Jinping told authorities to pull out all the stops in treating those hurt in the stampede. He also sought a quick and thorough probe into the cause of the stampede.

TagsShanghai stampede, New Year's Eve stampede, 2015, Stampede, fake money