PHUKET: Tourists were swept along Patong's Soi Bangla approaching midnight on New Year's Eve in a crush that could have been dangerous if someone had fallen, local residents warned today.

''What happened in Shanghai with scores killed will hopefully send a message to authorities on Phuket,'' said one resident, who prefers not to be named.

''Everybody muscled down the walking street to the beach to see the fireworks once midnight approached. People who wanted to go in the opposite direction had no choice except to go with the flow.

''There was no stopping the mass of people at beach road, despite the dangers of the traffic. The crowd simply surged across the road and continued down to the beach.''

Some of the people involved in the crush ended knee-deep in the sea, the resident said.

''Given what happened in Shanghai, it's a warning to Phuket authorities to establish better crowd control techniques. If people have no room to move, then it only takes a mild case of panic to create a stampede, with disastrous consequences.''

The resident said there have been dangerous crushes at other major events during the year, too.

''It's not something that authorities on Phuket seem to have considered because it's not such a big place. But when thousands gather in a tight space, things can go wrong.''

The Shanghai government is facing growing criticism across China for not being better prepared before the New Year's Eve stampede that killed 36 people and left dozens more injured.