A woman from Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has been killed in a robbery in Liberia, Chinese media reported on Friday.

Jiang Chongyu was stabbed more than 10 times on Tuesday and died later in a hospital in the West African nation.

"This is the first time that a Chinese person has been killed in Liberia, although the local security situation is not very good," said Zhang Yi from the Chinese Embassy in Liberia.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf visited the Chinese Embassy on Tuesday night to express her sorrow.

Jiang was an official in charge of an economic aid program launched by a company from Chongqing. She and five colleagues had been teaching local people how to make bamboo handicrafts.

Local police said Jiang was killed after she disturbed a man who was ransacking her dormitory. The killer was overcome by local people as he tried to escape.

Chinese Ambassador Lin Songtian and Commercial Counselor Zhang Yi went to the hospital as soon as they heard about the incident, and then urged local security officials to conduct a timely investigation and punish the culprit.

After the attack, the Chinese Embassy in Liberia transferred Jiang's colleagues to a safe place.

(China Daily July 28, 2007)