【明報專訊】''After joy comes sadness (樂極生悲),'' a Chinese saying goes. Of it few incidents are as illustrative as the Lan Kwai Fong stampede that happened at the turn of the year 1993.
1. What is a stampede?
A stampede (驚逃、狂奔) occurs when a group of large animals or people suddenly start running in the same direction because they are frightened or excited. Cattle stampedes can be triggered by anything untoward, such as the lighting of a match or someone jumping off a horse. Human stampedes, on the other hand, usually take place in large events such as celebrations or religious pilgrimages (朝聖).
2. The tragedy
The stampede happened on New Year's Eve in 1992. Citizens and visitors had flocked to Lan Kwai Fong waiting for the countdown and the celebrations afterwards. As many as 20,000 revellers gathered there, many of whom were drunk or weary (疲勞) after hours of merrymaking. A stage had been put up at D'Aguilar Street (德己立街), huge balloons hovered high up, and the event was broadcast live on television. A hundred and eighteen police officers had been sent there to maintain order.
The celebrations began to spiral out of control as the countdown drew near. People began to throw beer bottles and bricks and squirt (噴) soft drinks and alcohol at each other. As soon as they had rung in the New Year, they became embroiled (捲入) in the worst stampede since Hong Kong came under British rule.
Ten minutes past midnight a person fell down, triggering a wave of panic among the crowd. People collapsed like dominoes (骨牌). At the same time newcomers were rushing in at Wellington Street (威靈頓街). People trampled (踐踏) on others when the air was filled with heartrending cries for help. Wounded people lay on the roadside waiting for help, their belongings scattered all around.
The tragedy left 21 people dead and 63 injured.
3. The aftermath
Soon after the tragedy Chris Patten, then Hong Kong governor (港督彭定康), ordered an independent enquiry into the incident. It was headed by High Court judge Kemal Bokhary (高等法院法官包致金, right). To help the government prepare for the upcoming celebrations of Chinese New Year, Patten demanded that the interim report (中期報告) be completed in two weeks.
In his report Justice Bokhary identified a number of causes of the tragedy, including the police's failure to limit crowd sizes. Reluctant to spoil merrymakers' fun, they took a hands-off approach. They allowed all to join the celebrations except a couple with their baby in a pushchair (嬰兒車) and a person in a wheelchair. The fact that the place was sloppy and slippery with rain contributed to the tragedy, the report said.
Justice Bokhary made six recommendations. He said the police should in future try to estimate the turnout at a large event beforehand, take crowd-limiting measures on the spot, and raise public awareness about safety during large gatherings.
Some lawmakers pinpointed our railway system as a contributing factor. That night all-night services were not provided. Some revellers were anxious to leave before the railway stations closed. That indirectly led to the tragedy. Since the Lan Kwai Fong stampede, Hong Kong's railway system has provided all-night services every New Year's Eve.
