It was only a couple of months ago analysts were touting the economic recovery in China as reason to pile into Chinese equities to benefit from corporate earnings and central bank easing.

That trade would have been very successful for a nimble trader who exited near the top, however those inexperienced Chinese individuals, who account for roughly 85% of the market, are now running for the hills as the crash in Chinese stocks snowballs.

“I’ve never seen this kind of slump before. I don’t think anyone has. Liquidity is totally depleted,” said Du Changchun, an analyst at Northeast Securities to Reuters.

Panic is contagious and China has an epidemic. Around half of the stock market has been halted and those who piled in on margin are in a huge amount of trouble.

The selloff continues despite intervention from authorities who are doing there best to contain the market volatility.

“It’s just a matter of whether it will fall more slowly, or continue to slump in freefall,” said Qi Yifeng, analyst at CEBM. If this is the sentiment shared by the masses, the Chinese stock market could have a lot further to fall.