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Chinese Families Mourn Stampede Victims on Symbolic 7th Day

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Chinese officials try to control a relative of a New Year's Eve stampede victim as she grieves at the site of the tragedy in Shanghai, China, Jan. 6, 2015.
Chinese officials try to control a relative of a New Year's Eve stampede victim as she grieves at the site of the tragedy in Shanghai, China, Jan. 6, 2015.

Mourners returned to the site of a New Year's Eve stampede in Shanghai, China, on Tuesday, marking seven days since the tragedy, the height of the Chinese mourning period.

Government chaperones accompanied family members of the 36 stampede victims to the site, where each small group was allowed to remain briefly before being escorted away. Some visitors, wailing in grief, resisted being led away.

Some family members complain the government has not been responsive to their questions about last week's incident, which took place just before midnight in a popular waterfront area in central Shanghai.

Witnesses say the stampede broke out when people rushed to pick up fake money that had been thrown from a third-story window.

Police say they are investigating the cause of the stampede.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered authorities to take steps to make sure a similar incident does not happen again.

China has seen deadly stampedes before. Thirty-seven people died in 2004 when they were trampled on a bridge during the Lunar New Year holiday.

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