Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News, 2014-01-06

Fourteen people have been killed and 10 others injured in a stampede at a masjid in China's Northwest Ningxia region.

According to the official Xinhua news agency, the stampede occurred at lunchtime on Sunday while traditional food, or cakes, was being handed out to people attending an event to commemorate a late religious leader.

"The investigation is still underway. We have nothing to reveal," a man at the Xiji county, around 280 kilometers south of the regional capital Yinchuan, police surnamed Wang told Agence France Presse (AFP).

The injured were hospitalized, with four in critical condition.

An investigation is under way into the cause of the stampede

Images from the scene after the stampede showed clothes and shoes scattered on the ground.

The Hui ethnic group – who mostly inhabit the region – are one of a number of Muslim minority groups in China.

According to official data, China has 20 million Muslims, most of them are concentrated in Xinjiang, Ningxia, Gansu, and Qinghai regions and provinces.

(Twitter: @Faizie143)