Chaos erupts as millions fill Hung Kings festival in northern Vietnam (video)
Saturday, April 16, 2016, 16:56 GMT+7
People across Vietnam gathered by the record millions at a relic in the northern province of Phu Tho on Saturday morning to commemorate the death of Hung Kings, considered the Southeast Asian country’s founding fathers, with people elbowing one another and their children screaming in terror.
Hung Kings’ Death Anniversary, which falls on the tenth day of the third lunar month, is marked annually at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Viet Tri City, Phu Tho, with rituals and traditional activities to honor the first rulers of ancient Vietnam.
This year, as the country enjoys a three-day holiday that lasts from Saturday to Monday, millions of people flocked to the Hung Temples Relic Site this morning to take part in the main event of the festival, creating a chaotic scene.
Children who accompanied their parents screamed and cried as they were taken away by police officers to a separate place for safety reasons, while many adults fainted from the heat and suffocating air. They were elbowing one another to get to the site for offering rituals meant to bring good luck to the visitors.
The last barriers preventing the visitors from entering the relic site were cleared at 8:20 am, and the torrent of people raced to the top of Nghia Linh Mountain where the main temple sits, some even climbing over the fences and taking shortcuts to avoid the huddle.
The crowd did not decrease in numbers until 9:00 am the same day.
Watch a clip of the chaotic scene at the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province on April 16, 2016:
After the barriers were cleared for 30 minutes, the crowd was still stuck at the temple’s gate at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A woman carries a boiled chicken and some sticky rice to offer to Hung Kings at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Millions of people race to the top of Nghia Linh Mountain after the barriers were cleared at 8:20 am on April 16, 2016 at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A woman is helped by police officers after fainting among the crowd at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A boy cries as he and his father are stuck in the overwhelming sea of people attending the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A girl cries as she is taken by a police officer away from her parents to a separate place for safety reasons during the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Two boys are taken by police officers to a separate place for safety reasons during the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
An old woman is allowed to enter the temple before the barriers are cleared at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A boy cries as his parent hands him to police officers to be taken to a separate place for safety reasons during the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A boy faints and is carried away from the crowd by a volunteer during the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
A woman faints during the Hung Kings festival at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
Millions of people are seen crowding the foot of Nghia Linh Mountain, waiting to enter the main temple at the Hung Temples Relic Site in Phu Tho Province, April 16, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre
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