The 9,600-strong army of Chinese Muslims who undertook the annual pilgrimage to Mecca had returned by the end of last month, 17 fewer than their original number.

The 17, who all died of illness, were buried at the site according to the Islamic Sunna practice, said Yang Zhibo, vice chairman of the Islamic Association of China (IAC).

Yang said no Chinese hajis were injured in crowd incidents during the pilgrimage, as both the Chinese and Saudi Arabian governments had tightened measures to ensure the security.

The IAC dispatched a team to Mecca to prepare for the pilgrimage and the Saudi Arabian government expanded the number of available places and adjusted the schedules of some ceremonies to avoid rush times.

Three million world pilgrims thronged into the Muslim holy city for pilgrimage, 200,000 more than the previous year, when four Chinese died and several were injured as thousands of pilgrims rushed to complete a symbolic stoning ritual of the Hajj.

More than 9,600 Chinese Muslims from eight provinces and autonomous regions -- Xinjiang, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia and Henan -- took 31 non-stop charter flights from Nov. 29 to Dec. 17, 2006, to Saudi Arabia

(Xinhua News Agency February 2, 2007)