Three people died and 31 others were injured in a stampede triggered by cheap cooking oil prices at an outlet of hypermarket chain Carrefour on Saturday.
The three-day sales promotion in the municipality's Shapingba District was part of the French retail giant's 10th anniversary celebrations to mark its presence in the area and came amid rising edible oil prices.
The outlet was offering a discount of 11.5 yuan ($1.55) from the usual price of 51.4 yuan ($7) for a 5-liter bottle of cooking oil.
The promotion saw bargain-hunters waiting in line at the entrance around 4 am on Saturday, said Shapingba District spokesman Gao Chang.
The crowds rushed into the outlet and caused a stampede when its doors opened at about 8:40 am.
He Yu, one of the shoppers battling for bottles of the cooking oil, received bruises on his hands and face during the ensuing panic.
"I rushed to the oil shelf with others and grabbed four bottles," he said.
"Suddenly I was tripped onto the floor. Luckily, I got hold of another person and escaped from being crushed."
Those injured from the stampede are being treated at four hospitals in the city. One of the seven severely injured people is reportedly in critical condition while three were discharged by yesterday evening.
"The outlet has been ordered to suspend operation and an investigation is ongoing," said Gao.
The outlet has also been told to compensate the victims.
District officials issued a notice later that day stating that all departments and organizations must take effective precautionary measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Carrefour has opened 103 of its hypermarkets in 37 cities since it entered the Chinese market in 1995.
The latest outlet opened its doors on November 1 in Changchun, capital of Jilin Province.
It opened its first Chongqing store in 1998 and now operates four in the municipality.
The Shapingba outlet that saw the stampede is the chain's newest outlet in Chongqing. It opened last May and occupies 7,000 sq m.
Source: China Daily/Xinhua
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