A butterfly release at a mall in Chengdu, Sichuan Province took a nosedive when an overenthusiastic crowd rushed the stage and trampled a large portion of them.

Hearts were set aflutter when the host of the promotional event, held in Qingshuihe Park on Saturday afternoon, offered those in attendance the rare opportunity to release tens of thousands of colorful butterflies shipped from subtropical Yunnan Province.

However, things didn't take off as expected. Though a total 10 families were chosen, others scrambled to the stage for a chance to set the insects free.

Many of the butterflies, still on the ground, were stomped to death.

The event organizer told media that the butterflies did not fly when released because they were groggy from the cold weather.

"Before releasing them, we placed bags of hot water on the boxes to try to wake them up," said an employee.

This is not the first time a planned butterfly release in China has gone horribly wrong. Things got messy in September during a science exhibition in Xinxiang, Henan Province when a crowd grabbed at thousands of newly-released butterflies, injuring and killing an estimated thousands, media reported.

West China Metropolis Daily