In a spacious ward of the orthopedics department, on the 16th floor of Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital, lay five patients whose faces and limbs were covered with gauze and bandages.

"They arrived at around 6 am (on Sunday). Four are in critical condition - all of them have concussions," said Tan Bo, the surgeon in charge of the patients. The aircraft carrying the patients from Vietnam landed in Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport at 5 am on Sunday.

"It is feared their brains may bleed, which would be dangerous 48 to 72 hours after a concussion," Tan said of his patients.

Sixteen Sichuan natives who were injured in the rioting in Vietnam took the plane, arranged by the Chinese government, to Chengdu, where they are being treated at two hospitals.

"Five patients are in our orthopedics ward, and three others are in the burn ward of our hospital," said Chen Yanling, an orthopedics nurse in the Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital.

Of the five patients, four are middle-aged and one is 27. Liu Chuan, a shop owner in Chengdu whose aunt is hospitalized on the same floor, said he learned from some of the patients' relatives that most of the injured were tourists visiting Vietnam.

Another eight patients are treated at West China Hospital of Sichuan University, information officer Liao Zhilin said.

"The government will pay for the medical fees and food for the patients while they are hospitalized," he said.

Tan Xin, deputy chief of the Sichuan provincial foreign affairs office, said more Sichuan natives injured in the rioting will arrive in Chengdu on two more planes.

Contact the writer at uangzhiling@chinadaily.com.cn