Naharnet

China Road Crash Kills 23, Injures Three

Twenty-three people were killed and three injured Thursday when a bus and truck collided in China, local authorities said, highlighting the treacherous conditions on the nation's roads.

The accident happened Thursday morning on a highway in the eastern province of Anhui, the provincial press office said in a post on its official weibo, or microblog.

Photos of the accident in Xiao County showed half of the bus was completely destroyed and the truck had landed in a nearby ditch, its front end also pulverized after the head-on collision.

The pictures showed bodies scattered on the road.

Calls to the Xiao and Anhui government departments went unanswered.

China's roads are notoriously dangerous, with traffic laws and safety widely flouted. Bus operators often seek to cram as many people as they can onto their vehicles to maximize profits and drivers hurtle down highways.

Around 70,000 people die and 300,000 are injured in road accidents every year in China, state media have said citing police figures -- the equivalent of more than 190 dead and 800 injured every day.

A recent World Health Organization study said the true number of dead is likely around twice as high.

Source: Agence France Presse


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/36513