Olympics fans snap after 40-hour wait; police stop fights, battle crowds
Impatient fans stormed Olympics ticket outlets yesterday in an attempt to snatch the last batch of tickets for next month's Games as police lost control of the situation and scuffled with crowds.
The final 250,000 tickets - including some for the most popular events such as athletics, diving and gymnastics - went on sale at 9am, but tens of thousands of fans had been camping outside since Wednesday.
Despite heavy security presence outside the 'Bird's Nest' stadium and 'Water Cube' aquatics centre, chaos erupted at about 4.30am when a 2,000-strong crowd tried to break through control barriers to get to the ticket counters after seeing lights go on in one of the windows.
'I was sleeping but got awakened by a loud cry,' said Sui Xu, an 18-year-old high school student. 'Then I saw people swarm and push ahead like waves. I had no idea what was going on but I ran with the crowd nonetheless - to keep my spot in the queue.'
Public security officers were unable to contain the crowd, with people screaming, shoving and scrambling in panic. Order was gradually resumed when armed police were sent in half an hour later.
More disturbances occurred when disputes broke out between tired and frustrated fans, and queue-jumpers tried to steal a spot on the line. And in an attempt to ease the situation, officials split the queue but in the process caused a stampede as those towards the rear to raced to get to the front of the new lines.
