Countdown to midnight triggered a stampede on the sloping street of popular bar area
Hong Kong awoke to tragedy on January 1, 1993: “20 Dead In Crush Of New Year Revellers”, ran the front-page headline of the South China Morning Post.
“Up to 20 people were reported to have been killed and more than 100 injured in a stampede involving some of the 20,000 in Lan Kwai Fong in Central for New Year celebrations last night,” the story continued. “The crush occurred when people surged out into the streets from the district’s restaurants and bars as the countdown to midnight was being broadcast live on TVB.