Road accidents leave 58 dead in holiday rush
Source: Agencies |
February 3, 2013, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AT least 58 people have been killed on China's roads in five major crashes since Friday, as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel home for the Lunar New Year that falls on February 10 this year.
Overloaded vehicles, bad driving and unsafe road conditions have all been factors, said officials.
Yesterday morning in southwest China's Guizhou Province, an overloaded coach overturned and rolled down a 100-meter slope, killing 12 people and injuring 21.
The vehicle, designed for 19 people, was carrying 34 when the accident occurred, said police.
Also yesterday, seven people died and 12 were injured when a van carrying 19 people tumbled into a 30-meter-deep ravine in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, police said.
On Friday night, an overloaded bus in the northwestern province of Gansu fell into a ravine and burst into flames.
Six bodies were found at the scene shortly afterwards and two people died in the hospital.
Rescuers recovered 10 more bodies from the scene of the accident yesterday morning, bringing the death toll to 18.
In the central province of Henan, at least 10 people were killed after a truck loaded with fireworks for Lunar New Year celebrations exploded Friday morning, collapsing an elevated section of highway and sending vehicles plummeting 30 meters to the ground.
Also on Friday, a coach carrying 29 people flipped over onto a 100-meter slope in the southwestern province of Sichuan, killing 11 onboard and injuring 18 others.
China's transport network is gearing up for the peak of the Spring Festival rush, when hundreds of millions of people return to their hometowns for family reunions.
A record of 3.41 billion trips are expected to be made over this year's Spring Festival travel rush, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economic planner.
The country's rail network is expected to handle 225 million trips, while long-distance buses will handle up to 3.1 billion passengers trips.
Trains and long-distance buses account for 99 percent of all Spring Festival trips.
However, speeding, overloading and bad driving habits compounded with poor road conditions, especially in some mountainous regions, often lead to a spate of road accidents at this time of the year.
Traffic accidents on China's roads result in about 70,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries each year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
Overloaded vehicles, bad driving and unsafe road conditions have all been factors, said officials.
Yesterday morning in southwest China's Guizhou Province, an overloaded coach overturned and rolled down a 100-meter slope, killing 12 people and injuring 21.
The vehicle, designed for 19 people, was carrying 34 when the accident occurred, said police.
Also yesterday, seven people died and 12 were injured when a van carrying 19 people tumbled into a 30-meter-deep ravine in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, police said.
On Friday night, an overloaded bus in the northwestern province of Gansu fell into a ravine and burst into flames.
Six bodies were found at the scene shortly afterwards and two people died in the hospital.
Rescuers recovered 10 more bodies from the scene of the accident yesterday morning, bringing the death toll to 18.
In the central province of Henan, at least 10 people were killed after a truck loaded with fireworks for Lunar New Year celebrations exploded Friday morning, collapsing an elevated section of highway and sending vehicles plummeting 30 meters to the ground.
Also on Friday, a coach carrying 29 people flipped over onto a 100-meter slope in the southwestern province of Sichuan, killing 11 onboard and injuring 18 others.
China's transport network is gearing up for the peak of the Spring Festival rush, when hundreds of millions of people return to their hometowns for family reunions.
A record of 3.41 billion trips are expected to be made over this year's Spring Festival travel rush, according to the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's economic planner.
The country's rail network is expected to handle 225 million trips, while long-distance buses will handle up to 3.1 billion passengers trips.
Trains and long-distance buses account for 99 percent of all Spring Festival trips.
However, speeding, overloading and bad driving habits compounded with poor road conditions, especially in some mountainous regions, often lead to a spate of road accidents at this time of the year.
Traffic accidents on China's roads result in about 70,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries each year, according to the Ministry of Public Security.
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