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Fires, attacks, stampedes: 8 NYE tragedies that preceded Swiss resort blaze

New Year 2025: A 42-year-old former US soldier drove his pickup truck into a crowd in the heart of New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring around 30 others

Published: Fri 2 Jan 2026, 5:20 PM

New Year celebrations across the world have been marred by tragedies over the past 25 years, like the deadly bar fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana on Thursday.

Here is a list of some: 

New Year 2025 in New Orleans: Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a 42-year-old former US soldier, drove his pickup truck into a New Year's crowd in the heart of New Orleans, killing 14 people and injuring around 30 others. 

He was killed in an exchange of fire with police in the touristy French Quarter. Police said he had expressed support for the Daesh group in several videos.

New Year 2017 in Istanbul: At least 39 people, including 27 foreigners, were killed and nearly 80 were injured in a shooting at Reina, an upscale nightclub on Istanbul's European shore.

The assailant, armed with an assault rifle, fired randomly before fleeing. 

The Daesh group claimed responsibility, and an Uzbek national, Abdulkadir Masharipov, was handed a life sentence in 2020.

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New Year 2004 in Indonesia: Around 10 people were killed and 32 injured by a bomb during a New Year's Eve concert in Peureulak in Indonesia's Aceh province. Authorities blamed the attack on rebels from the Free Aceh Movement, who were then the target of an Indonesian army offensive. 

New Year 2023 in Uganda: A stampede killed 10 people, mostly children, in Uganda who had gathered to watch a fireworks display.  The victims, mostly aged 10 to 20, were in a crowd crammed into a narrow passageway to watch the pyrotechnics display outside the Freedom City Mall in the south of the capital, Kampala.

Organisers had blocked most entrances to prevent unpaid attendees from slipping in. 

New Year 2015 in China: Moments before midnight on Shanghai's Bund boulevard, a stampede left 36 people dead and 49 injured. The disaster exposed serious shortcomings among law enforcement and emergency services, who were unable to prevent the tragedy. 

New Year 2013 in Ivory Coast and Angola: Sixty-three people were killed, and 48 were injured in a stampede that occurred when a massive crowd was leaving the administrative district of Ivory Coast's main city, Abidjan, after watching fireworks. 

On the same New Year's Eve, at least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a stampede at the entrance to a stadium in the Angolan capital, Luanda, where a New Year's prayer vigil was being held. 

New Year 2001 in the Netherlands: Fourteen people were killed and 268 were injured in a fire that ripped through a cafe in Volendam, a fishing port north of Amsterdam, on the night of New Year's Eve. 

Shortly after the stroke of midnight marking the start of 2001, flares were lit in the cafe Le Petit Paradis and their sparks ignited fir branches hung from the ceiling as Christmas decorations. A brief but intense blaze triggered panic and a stampede.

New Year 2009 in Thailand: A fire destroyed the Santika club in a Bangkok entertainment district, leaving 66 dead and more than 200 injured. 

The blaze was sparked by fireworks as a rock band was performing.