Dozens of people demonstrated yesterday in front of government offices. They want the authorities to release for burial the bodies of those who died in the New Year stampede. A controversy has emerged over compensation and "preferential" treatment given to foreigners.

Shanghai (AsiaNews) - The relatives of the victims of the New Year's Eve stampede on Shanghai's Bund are calling on the authorities to release the bodies of their love ones and provide compensation for their loss.

Many of the victims' bodies remain in funeral homes, but the bodies of two foreigners - a Malaysian and a Taiwanese - have already been repatriated.

A few minutes before midnight on 31 December, thousands of people had gathered on a viewing platform overlooking the Huangpu River, near Piazza Chen Yi, to watch the light show on the other side of the river.

At one point, chaos broke out on a stairway leading up to the platform after some people fell. Panicked, people tried to flee, causing a stampede that left 36 people dead and at least 47 injured.

Some social media reports initially suggested that the incident had been triggered by the launch of banknote-shaped coupons from a building, but Shanghai police dismissed this as the cause of the stampede as only a few people tried to pick them up.

Now victims' families want the government to release the bodies of their loved ones for burial, but so far, officials have denied permission.

A young man from Chengdu, who lost a cousin in the accident, said the authorities were keeping a close watch over the relatives.

"We have been arranged to stay at different places. There are three people following us wherever we go," he said.

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