BOGOTA, January 2: A total of 147 people died in New Year's Eve celebrations across Colombia, most of them young people who drank too much and became violent, Police said here Thursday. Fifty people died in road accidents, 64 from gunshot wounds, 22 from stabbing and 11 From being bludgeoned, police said.Last year, 23 people died in Colombia's New Year's festivities, but that comparatively low number was due to special security measures imposed by the police to stem the celebration carnage.
In El Salvador, 38 people died and 295 were injured in festivities, emergency services officials said. Emergency services spokesman Carlos Alvarado said more deaths and injuries were expected on Thursday as Salvadorans headed for the Central American country's beaches and riverside resorts.
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, nearly 1.5 million people crowded onto the famed Copacabana beach to ring in the New year with fireworks and rituals honoring Yemanja, the Afro-Brazilian goddess of the sea. The 4.5-kilometer beach was
packed with Brazilians, tourists and many faithful in white in honor of the ``Queen of the Waves,'' cheering the fireworks that exploded at midnight.
Police said no serious accidents or injuries were reported during the celebrations, one of the biggest holidays in the Brazilian calendar. More than 800 police officers and 20 army battalions patrolled the beach late throughout New Year's Eve.
In Buenos Aires, more than 100 people were hurt by fireworks, though the number was 50 per cent lower than Christmas injuries because of the heavy rains that fell on the Argentine capital late Wednesday, medical services reported.
Seventy-two people were treated for eye injuries after being hit with firecrackers or champagne corks.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
