China expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the Iraqi people for the Baghdad bridge stampede accident, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang said Thursday.

Qin described the deadly stampede as "a misfortune event with heavy casualties" when asked to make comments.

According to the latest report, the death toll in the stampede on a Baghdad bridge yesterday has risen to 965, with 465 others injured.

A fake suicide bomb alarm triggered the stampede on a bridge over the Tigris River in Baghdad while about 1 million pilgrims from many parts of Baghdad and other provinces gathered for the annual commemoration of the death of the seventh of the 12 most sacred Shiite imams.

(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2005)