More foreign leaders have sent condolences to their Chinese counterparts over the gas well burst in Chongqing Municipality in southwest China, which has caused 233 deaths, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday. 

In his message to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on behalf of the Indian government and people, expressed deep sympathy for the victims of the accident.

Vajpayee also wished maximum success for the rescue and rehabilitation of the survivors and said India is ready to offer any possible help.

In a telegram sent to President Hu Jintao, Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom expressed his deep sympathy for the victims and sincere condolences to the bereaved families.

In a letter to Chinese President Hu, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, on behalf of the Algerian people and in his own name, offered sincere condolences to the families of those who died in the accident.

Bouteflika said he was confident about the measures taken by the Chinese government to lessen the consequences of the disaster and avoid more losses. He wished the injured a speedy recovery.

Mauritanian President Maawiya Ould Sid Ahmed Taya sent a message to his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, offering sincere sympathy to the Chinese government and the people.

In a message to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the secretary of the General People's Committee of Libya, Shokri Mohammed Ghanem, said he shares the deep sense of grief with the Chinese people.

King of Saudi Arabia Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz, First Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guards Abdullah Bin Abdul-Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation Sultan Bin Abdul-Aziz sent messages to Chinese President Hu Jintao, expressing sincere sympathy to the families of the dead and wishing the injured a speedy recovery. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2003)