Chinese FM responds to Tian'anmen car crash

BEIJING - China said on Wednesday it expressed condolences to the victims in Monday's Tian'anmen car crash, pledging to provide necessary assistance to relevant countries.

"We feel grieved for the unfortunate incident, and express condolences to the innocent victims and solicitude to the bereaved families and the injured," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hua Chunying said at a daily press briefing in response to the deadly crash, in which five foreign tourists, four from the Philippines and one from Japan, were among the casualties.

The Chinese government carried out rescue work immediately after the incident, made all-out efforts to save the lives of the injured, and informed the embassies of relevant countries in Beijing in time, Hua said.

The Chinese side also facilitated visits to the injured by consuls of relevant countries, she said, adding that the Chinese side will continue to provide necessary assistance.

Chinese police have identified the deadly crash as a violent terrorist attack and five suspects have been detained.

A jeep crashed into a crowd of people and caught fire in front of the Tian'anmen rostrum in downtown Beijing at noon on Monday, killing five people and injuring another 40, police said.

The dead include three people in the jeep, a Filipino female tourist and a male tourist from south China's Guangdong Province, according to the police.

The 40 injured include two female and one male tourist from the Philippines as well as a male tourist from Japan.