(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-03 08:00

A stampede in Guangzhou Railway Station of South China's Guangdong Province has left one passenger dead as stranded passengers rushed to board trains after days of waiting .

Stranded train passengers wait outside a railway station in the southern city of Guangzhou on Friday. Millions of Chinese were stranded by snow ahead of Spring Festival, the most important holiday of the year. [Agencies]

The Guangzhou police authority confirmed the death of Li Hongxia, a Guangzhou watch factory worker from Hubei Province, despite emergency treatment on the early morning of Saturday.

Qi Xiaolin, deputy head of the Public Security Bureau of Guangzhou told a press conference held on late night Saturday that this is the first such case in the province during the current Spring Festival transport period.

Li arrived at the station at 3 pm Friday, when the square and surrounding area was crowded with 260,000 passengers waiting to board trains, Qi told reporters.

At 9 pm, Li was jostled to the ground as crowds of people were forcing their way into the square and got injured in the following stampede. In serious coma, she was sent to hospital immediately.

At least 240,000 passengers were still stranded at the Guangzhou Railway Station on Friday. According to the Ministry of Railways, 1.4 million people were still waiting to leave Guangzhou by train as of Friday.

Every day 12,000 police along with numerous security guards are posted in the station to maintain order.