Chinese President Hu Jintao
on Saturday sent a message of condolences to his Pakistani
counterpart Pervez Musharraf over the massive earthquake that
caused heavy casualties and damages in the South Asian
country.
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Hu, on behalf of the Chinese government and people and in his own
name, offered his condolences, through Musharraf, to the victims'
families and the injured, and expressed deep grief over those who
were killed in the disaster.
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On the same day, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Foreign Minister Li
Zhaoxing also extended condolences to their Pakistani counterparts
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri
over the deadly earthquake.
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A powerful earthquake, of a magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale,
rocked Pakistan, India and Afghanistan Saturday morning, killing at
least 700 people and injuring thousands of others. The death toll
is likely to rise.
Four Chinese were injured in the Pakistani city of Besham in the
earthquake, according to the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.
One of the four injured is still in coma, an embassy official
told Xinhua, adding that the four were working for a hydro project
in a tunnel when the earthquake occurred.
(Xinhua News Agency October 9, 2005)