GUANGZHOU: A woman died after she was trampled in a stampede at the square of the Guangzhou railway station on Saturday morning, which saw more than 260,000 people trying to head home for Spring Festival stuck during the weekend alone.
Li Hongxia, a 39-year-old employee of a clock and watch company in the provincial capital's Panyu district, was seriously injured after she was pushed to the ground by passengers, Qi Xiaolin, deputy director of the Guangzhou municipal bureau of public security, told a press conference yesterday.
Li, who came from Hubei province, died on the way to a nearby hospital, officials said.
Guangzhou Railway Group officials said more than 800,000 passengers were still stranded in the city yesterday.
The number of passengers stuck in the square of the station alone reached more than 260,000 during the weekend.
Luo Qionghua, a doctor at a mobile clinic at the station, said at least 1,000 passengers had fallen ill and needed treatment in the square for each of the two days.
"Most of them collapsed from hunger, cold and being in the crowds," said Luo.
More than 12,000 service staff, police officers and railway employees are doing what they can to ensure order and the smooth operation of the railway, officials said.
Wang Yang, Party secretary of Guangdong province, has urged relevant departments to treat the migrant workers "as their own brothers and sisters" and help ensure a safe journey for migrant workers going home for family reunions.
Wang also praised the province's 26 million migrant workers who have contributed to Guangdong's rapid economic growth in the past years when he visited the station on Saturday night.
"Government departments at all levels have the responsibility and obligation to help them (migrant workers) overcome their difficulties under the current situation," Wang said.
About 350,000 train passengers left Guangzhou for their homes yesterday, official figures showed.
Not all are pressing on to make it back for the holiday.
Chen Hongfang believes her parents do not want her to go home for Spring Festival.
So the 24-year-old native of Yueyang in Hunan province set their minds at ease when she told them yesterday she decided to stay in Guangzhou, where she works in a toy factory.
Carrying a blue knapsack, the migrant worker told China Daily she was scared to tears in the square of Guangzhou railway station yesterday.
"I still shiver when I think about the nightmare that was the past two days," Chen said.
"The square was so crowded there was no space to move even one step," she said.
Chen recalled being shoved to the ground twice before she spent an hour struggling to escape from the area.
She then phoned her parents to tell them she was staying in the provincial capital of Guangdong, so they could rest easy.
Source: China Daily
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