Bus Slaying Relatives Await News

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 01, 2003

Bus Slaying Relatives Await News

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Deeply distraught relatives of Chinese nationals murdered recently in a bus attack in Kyrgyzstan have gathered at the Chinese Embassy in Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek, to wait anxiously for latest news on the investigation.

However, few details have yet been released by the Kyrgyzstan police, said Sun Dapeng, spokesman for the embassy.

"The (Kyrgyzstan) police are trying very hard and we (the embassy) are keeping around-the-clock contact with them to get the latest information and to provide prompt support,'' said Sun.

Twenty-one passengers, on board a bus heading to Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from Bishkek, were shot early Thursday morning, before their bus was torched about 260 kilometres from Bishkek.

Nineteen of the dead have been confirmed to be Chinese nationals returning from routine business trips.

Two of the 19 were from East China's Fujian Province, while the rest were from Xinjiang, according to the embassy.

The official said the Kyrgyzstan police force's lack of DNA technology might cause certain difficulties in identifying the dead, and might slow down the process of claiming the bodies.

The bodies of victims were barely recognizable and all their possessions, including identity papers, were burnt beyond recognition, according to local police.

The Chinese society in Kyrgyzstan was shocked by the atrocity, according to Sun.

He said about 6,000 Chinese nationals in Kyrgyzstan have officially registered with the local government as residents, but he noted that the number may be higher because that figure does not include those back and forwards on business.

"There are surging demands among them (the Chinese nationals staying in Kyrgyzstan) to track down the murderers as soon as possible,'' he said.

However, since most business between China and Kyrgyzstan is carried out by private enterprises and individual businessmen, the tragedy might not have a far-reaching impact on Sino-Kyrgyzstan business connections, Sun said. (China Daily News)

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