The Islamic Association of China said Monday night that five
Chinese Muslim pilgrims had been killed in a stampede on Sunday
during a ritual at the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca
in Saudi Arabia.
Quoting the latest report from a pilgrimage task force
dispatched by the association, Yu Zhengui, vice-president of the
association, also said in a press release that about 10 other
Chinese pilgrims got hurt.
More than 30 Muslims from Gansu
Province in northwest China were pushed to the ground in the
stampede at the ritual site, the press release said.
Chinese President Hu Jintao on a foreign visit has instructed
the Chinese embassy in Riyadh to offer all assistance possible to
the Chinese pilgrims.
(Xinhua News Agency February 3, 2004)