1956 Yahiko Shrine Stampede
| Date | 1 January 1956 |
|---|---|
| Location | Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Japan |
| Participants | 35000–40000 |
| Deaths | 124 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 75 |
| Property damage | collapsed shrine stone walls |
Just after midnight in the morning of 1 January 1956 a human crowd crush and stampede resulted in the death of 124 individuals and 75 people were injured at the Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Japan.
Stampede[edit]
Around midnight of 1 January 1956, 35,000 to 40,000 people visited the Yahiko Shrine to pay the traditional honors on the occasion of the new year.[1] Just after midnight a stampede occurred on the steep steps leading to the shrine at the moment the priest started throwing down rice cookies, according to the tradition. The two-metres high stone walls on the sides of the stair collapsed due to the pushing by crowd. People were buried under the stones or fell down. [2]
Initial reports listed 112 deaths and 50 injured people.[3][4] These numbers later increased to 124 deaths and 75 injured people.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ "124 Sjinto-pelgrims in gedrang verpletterd". De Maasbode (in Dutch). 2 January 1956. p. 2 – via Delpher.
- ^ "Gedrang bij Sjinto-heiligdom: ruim honderd doden". Leeuwarder Courant : Hoofdblad van Friesland (in Dutch). Leeuwarder Courant. 2 January 1956. p. 3 – via Delpher.
- ^ "112 JAPANESE DIE IN PANIC AT SHRINE". The New York Times. 1 January 1956.
- ^ "Ramp in heiligdom" (in Dutch). De Stem. 2 January 1956. p. 1 – via krantenbankzeeland.nl.
- ^ "Het aantal" (in Dutch). De Stem. 3 January 1956. p. 1 – via krantenbankzeeland.nl.