NEW YORK: Millions of revelers took to the streets from Sydney to New York to usher in 2015 on Thursday, but celebrations turned to tragedy in many parts of the world.

Chaos broke out in China’s financial hub as people packed the Bund district to welcome the New Year. In addition to the dead, 42 people were injured in the crush, which happened shortly before midnight, Shanghai’s government said in a statement, adding that the incident was under investigation.

Tragedy also struck in the Philippines where, in what has become an annual tide of New Year’s injuries, firecrackers and gunfire left more than 350 people injured, with more than a dozen requiring amputations. Those tragic notes were struck on a night filled with hopes for a more peaceful year than 2014.

Five people were killed and dozens injured in separate fireworks accidents across Europe as people celebrated the New Year.

Danish police say that three people were killed in two fireworks accidents in the north of the country. Two others were injured.

Police said they believe the incidents occurred during the firing of powerful fireworks through tube launchers. It was not clear if the accidents late Wednesday, both in the Mariager Fjord Municipality, were connected.

German police said a 19-year-old man was killed early Thursday in Striegistal in the eastern state of Saxony when he tried to ignite unauthorized firecrackers. Another man was severely injured in the accident.

Supermarkets in Germany sell authorized fireworks for New Year’s celebrations that are supposed to conform to certain safety standards, but illegally sold fireworks do not match these standards and often lead to accidents. Another man was killed in Alveslohe in northern Germany. The 18-year-old was hit on the head by a firecracker.

A 9-year-old boy in Alsfeld in Hesse was injured on the neck when a man tried to fire a illumination rocket with a gun, while a 23-year-old man in Gardelegen in Saxony-Anhalt lost four fingers when a firecracker exploded in his hands.

In Stuttgart in southwestern Germany, 39 people were injured when the underground garage of their building caught fire. All 92 residents had to be evacuated, nine were brought to the hospital for smoke poisoning and 30 others were treated for smoke inhalation on the scene.

Stuttgart police said they were still investigating the cause of the fire and it was not clear if it was caused by fireworks.

In Berlin, some 100 youths targeted police with fireworks in such force that police officers had to retreat for some time before they received backup and managed to rein in the crowd.

The optimism was demonstrated in Australia, where an estimated one million people flocked to a massive fireworks display in Sydney Harbor, defying terrorist fears days after a deadly siege.

“We are celebrating that we are a multicultural, harmonious community but we will be thinking about what happened,” Sydney’s Lord Mayor Clover Moore said in reference to the deadly standoff when an Iranian-born gunman took 17 hostages in a cafe.

In Hong Kong, hundreds of thousands of people crowded the city’s promenades to watch an eight-minute pyrotechnic display after a year in which busy thoroughfares were paralyzed for months by pro-democracy protests. “I think a more peaceful year would be good for everybody,” said Louis Ho, 65.

Europe’s celebrations kicked off in Moscow, where red and green fireworks lit up the sky over St. Basil’s Cathedral, bringing “oohs” and “aahs” from the crowd braving sub-zero conditions.

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President Vladimir Putin sent a greeting to his US counterpart Barack Obama, saying they had a mutual responsibility to ensure world peace after a year that has seen relations between Russia and the West sink to their worst point since the Cold War.

Obama’s office, meanwhile, said he planned to usher in the New Year in Hawaii “with family and friends” as he winds down a two-week vacation and prepares to head back to Washington this weekend.

Dubai celebrated the new year with a light and sound extravaganza at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, which was lit up with differently colored panels as the clock counted down to 2015.

In London, the skyline was illuminated by a thunderous firework display in front of over 100,000 ticket holders gathered on the banks of the River Thames.

Further north, Edinburgh held its traditional Hogmanay street party although celebrations at the nearby Stirling Castle were canceled due to high winds.

In Paris, the Champs-Elysees was closed off to traffic to allow pedestrians to watch a visual spectacle projected onto the Arc de Triomphe before a huge fireworks display greeted the New Year.

Tens of thousands of people gathered near the Brandenburg Gate in central Berlin to watch fireworks and a free concert featuring “Baywatch” star David Hasselhoff.

“The Hoff” had the crowd singing along to “Looking for Freedom,” the song he performed 25 years ago as the Berlin Wall fell.

Roughly 20,000 people packed Madrid’s central Puerta del Sol square to ring in 2015, gobbling a grape on each of the 12 chimes of the clock at midnight for 12 months of good luck.

It was a particularly significant night for Lithuania, where leaders withdrew their first euro notes from a Vilnius bank machine after it became the 19th country to adopt the single currency.

Across Asia, revelers celebrated with fireworks and music, with hundreds of thousands crowding near the landmark skyscraper Taipei 101 to watch performances by pop singers.

But in Malaysia, a somber mood prevailed after the crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 carrying 162 people and flooding in the northeast that has displaced almost 250,000.

Year-end celebrations have been canceled, with many companies instead launching fundraising campaigns for flood victims.

In Indonesia, where most of the victims were from, New Year festivities in the capital started solemnly with a prayer for the victims while relatives gathered in Surabaya for a candlelit vigil in the hours before midnight.

Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the last French troops in the country held a ceremony in Kabul to mark the end of their deployment after NATO combat operations closed down as a new “train and support” mission takes over.

In the Americas, in addition to New York’s massive street party, celebrations a fireworks show in Brazil expected to draw more than two million people on Copacabana beach, to open celebrations marking 450 years since the founding of Rio de Janeiro.