China's Ministry of Commerce issued an urgent circular on Monday
banning time-limited sales promotions in shops following a deadly
stampede at a Carrefour outlet.
Three people died and 31 were injured in a stampede triggered by
a sales promotion at a Carrefour outlet on Nov. 10 in southwestern
Chongqing Municipality.
The three-day promotion at a hypermarket in the city's Shapingba
District was launched to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the
French retail giant's entry into the city.
The shop offered an 11.5-yuan (US$1.5) discount off the original
price of 51.4 yuan for a five-liter bottle of cooking oil. When the
store opened its doors for business throngs of people swarmed in
and a mass stampede began.
"The outlet has been ordered to suspend operation and the work
safety watchdog has started an investigation," said Gao Chang,
spokesman for the Shapingba District government.
The ministry has ordered local commercial authorities and public
security departments to launch an overhaul of retail stores to
prevent similar incidents from happening again.
It also ordered local branches to help store managers foster
safety awareness and establish emergency-response procedures.
(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2007)
