Australia Christmas gift scramble leaves a dozen injured

Around 150 people jostled for prime position as two massive bags full of balloons hovered overhead in the Westfield Parramatta shopping centre in Sydney's western suburbs. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM YOUTUBE

SYDNEY (AFP, REUTERS) - A frantic scramble for gift promotions left a dozen people injured in an Australian mall on Tuesday (Dec 24), after hundreds of balloons with prizes inside were dropped on Christmas shoppers gathered below.

Around 150 people jostled for prime position as two massive bags full of balloons hovered overhead in the Westfield Parramatta shopping centre in Sydney's western suburbs.

Video footage showed people jostling for the gold, silver and white balloons containing the gift cards.

When the bags were opened at midnight, cries went up as the crowd surged forwards, crushing people and knocking over a Christmas prop, which sent one person dressed as Santa Claus careening back several metres, footage of the event shows.

"Once the balloons were released in the air, the crowd rushed towards the balloons, causing a number of people to be knocked over and injured," police said in a statement.

"People were screaming at each other, telling each other to get off them," witness Christie Trawan Budi told Agence France-Presse.

Jonathan Nott, who took the footage, said he was worried someone would get hurt as the crowd gathered. "It did not look like a very safe area for a large crowd to scramble for balloons."

Twelve people were treated for minor injuries, with five taken to hospital with a "mixture of leg and ankle injuries, chest pain and muscular skeletal injuries due to being stepped on", said New South Wales state ambulance.

The shopping centre management told local media it was investigating the incident.

"The safety of our customers, retail partners and people is our priority," a spokesman said.

"Our team acted swiftly to support our customers, contact emergency services and make the area safe. Our team are continuing to speak with affected customers directly," the spokesman added.

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