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China Expresses Concern about Bus Accident in
Kyrgyzstan
March 30, 2003
BEIJING (AP) _ China's ambassador to Kyrgyzstan has
implored the Central Asian nation's government to ``apprehend
the murderer'' responsible for killing 21 people on a
Chinese-owned passenger bus, the official Xinhua News
Agency reported Saturday.
Chinese President Hu Jintao ordered his government to
act quickly in investigating who killed the travelers
_ 19 of them Chinese citizens _ aboard the bus in
Kyrgyzstan, Xinhua said. Kyrgyzstan sits on China's
western border.
The people aboard the bus, mostly ethnic Uighur
vendors from China, appear to have been shot and
killed before their bus was engulfed by fire in
southeastern Kyrgyzstan, officials there said Friday.
The Chinese ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Hong Jiuyin, met
Friday with officials from the Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry
and asked them to ``find out the real cause of the
accident and apprehend the murderer as soon as
possible,'' Xinhua said.
The burned-out double-decker bus was found in the
mountains about 263 kilometers (150 miles) southeast
of the capital Bishkek on Thursday.
Chinese shuttle traders have established a major
presence in Bishkek's markets and shops, bringing in
clothing and electronic goods and carrying their
profits back home.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Rustam Isaev said it was
impossible to identify wounds on the bodies because
they were so badly burned. The bodies have been
brought to Bishkek for the investigation.
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