China's Ministry of Commerce issued an urgent circular on Monday banning time-limited sales promotions in shops following a deadly stampede at a Carrefour outlet.

Three people died and 31 were injured in a stampede triggered by a sales promotion at a Carrefour outlet on Nov. 10 in southwestern Chongqing Municipality.

The three-day promotion at a hypermarket in the city's Shapingba District was launched to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the French retail giant's entry into the city.

The shop offered an 11.5-yuan (US$1.5) discount off the original price of 51.4 yuan for a five-liter bottle of cooking oil. When the store opened its doors for business throngs of people swarmed in and a mass stampede began.

"The outlet has been ordered to suspend operation and the work safety watchdog has started an investigation," said Gao Chang, spokesman for the Shapingba District government.

The ministry has ordered local commercial authorities and public security departments to launch an overhaul of retail stores to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

It also ordered local branches to help store managers foster safety awareness and establish emergency-response procedures.

(Xinhua News Agency November 13, 2007)