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MALAYSIA-ACCIDENT
Malaysia probes deadly market stampede
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 29, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – A stampede in a Malaysian market
that killed two elderly women as people rushed to collect free food coupons
will be investigated by police, an official said Tuesday.
Almost 1,000 people descended on the indoor market in Kuala Lumpur Monday
to get their hands on 200 vouchers for a buffet meal during next month’s
Lunar New Year festivities.
Two women, aged 85 and 78, collapsed in the crush. Attempts by paramedics
to resuscitate them failed and they died at the scene, police said.
Two other women who fainted during the rush to collect the vouchers, which
were being given away by those running the market, were revived.
Such stampedes are rare in Malaysia, which is relatively affluent in
comparison to other parts of Southeast Asia.
A security guard described chaotic scenes, telling The Star newspaper that
people were “pushing each other” to collect the coupons and then started to
scream.
“We will investigate the cause of death and also whether the organisers had
put in place sufficient safety measures,” local police chief Shaharuddin
Abdullah told AFP.
Lunar New Year is a major celebration in Malaysia, where about a quarter of
the 32 million inhabitants are ethnic Chinese.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1454 hrs