27 victims of Kunming terror attack leave hospitals

One survivor of the terrorist attack in Kunming on March 1 remained in life-threatening condition on Sunday, the city's mayor said.

Twenty-seven of the 143 people injured in the attack have been discharged from hospitals and have returned home, Li Wenrong, the mayor of the Yunnan provincial capital, said in Beijing on Sunday.

This means 116 were still being treated in hospitals, and 44 of them remain seriously injured, he said.

Condemning the attack and calling for united efforts to fight terrorism, Li likened terrorists to rats running across the street, citing a Chinese saying that describes people who are extremely unpopular.

More than 2,000 medical workers were treating the injured in 12 hospitals, and psychological counseling was being provided to victims and their families, the mayor said.

"The attack caused huge trauma for those who experienced and still remember it, and the Kunming government has invited top psychologists to console the injured and victims' families," said Li, who also is a deputy to the National People's Congress. He joined the NPC meeting four days after it opened on March 5.

The terrorist attack at Kunming Railway Station killed 29 people. Four terrorists were shot dead at the scene, and four others were arrested.

Li said many volunteers joined the rescue effort after the attack, which lasted about 15 minutes. Taxi drivers, private car owners and tricyclers helped rush the injured to hospitals, while ambulances arrived at the railway station in four minutes.

Wang Xianlong, a 60-year-old survivor who received head and back injuries, can now walk on his own after nine days of treatment at the Kunming No 1 People's Hospital.

Wang said psychiatrists came to the hospital to offer help on how to leave behind "horrible memories".

Qin Guangrong, Party chief of Yunnan, said on Sunday that the province will strengthen security to prevent terrorists from making the border province a frontier to sneak into other countries.

The province shares more than 4,000 km of borderline with other countries.

Meanwhile, 15 bodies of the 29 dead victims had been cremated in Kunming, Li said.

Li Yingqing and Xue Dan in Kunming contributed to this story.

Ceremony held in Kunming for attack victims	?In photos:Terror attack in Kunming