Zhou Wei, the party chief of Shanghai's Huangpu District, and his deputy Peng Song were fired for dereliction of duty and failing to properly respond to the New Year's Evea stampede in Shanghai's Bund district that left 36 people dead.

"The Huangpu District government should take unshirkable responsibility for the incident," said Xiong Xinguang, director of the city's emergency response at a press conference Wednesday to announce the finings of an investigation into the tragic event.

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The investigation blamed the Huangpu government for failing to provide public security awareness that led to the loss of life and injuries.  The Huangpu government was also held liable for not assessing the safety risks, not being adequately prepared, and for poor on-site management in the face of an emergency.

The report found that the size of the security staff on duty New Year's Eve was "severely insufficient." A mere 350 police officers, 100 armed police and 108 urban management officers were deployed in the area, it said.

 "The tragedy should never have happened and could have been prevented," Shanghai Vice Mayor Zhou Bo told the press conference.

The families of those killed in the tragedy will receive 800,000 yuan ($129,000) each in financial assistance.

Nine other party officials were also either fired or demoted for failing to respond properly to the traffic event. The officials were also punished for violating China's frugality rules by attending a lavish banquet at a restaurant while the tragedy occurred, reports Shanghai Daily.

Zhou and Peng, and other government officials had been invited by a local state-owned investment company to attend the dinner, at a cost to the public of 2,700 yuan ($435) a head. Zhou and several other officials left the dinner table to respond to the events on the Bund.

Also fired were Zhou Zheng, Huangpu's deputy director and police chief, and Chen Qi, the district's deputy police chief,  according to an investigation team comprising government officials, lawmakers and public security experts, who held a press conference today to announce its findings.

 "It is a bloody lesson and extremely cruel. We feel extremely heart-stricken, guilty and very remorseful," Shanghai's Party Secretary Han Zheng told a meeting of the city's Party officials before the press conference. "The incident could have been avoided if government officials had shown better safety awareness," he said.

Seven other officials, including two from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau's emergency coordination center, were not fired, but were disciplined, although further details of the disciplinary action are not known.

TagsChina Fires Demotes 11 Officials Over Shanghai New Year’s Stampede, Zhou Wei, Peng Song, Shanghai’s Huangpu District, Xiong Xinguang, Shanghai’s Bund district, Shanghai’s Bund district, The Huangpu government