Eight people were killed and 18 others injured in a major
traffic accident in central China's Hunan Province on Saturday.
Local police said yesterday it took place at around 11 AM when a
minibus overturned and fell into a river from a seven-meter-high
mountain path in the county of Xupu.
Seven people were killed on the spot and another one died on the
way to hospital.
The police source said the maximum seating capacity of the
minibus was 16, but that it was carrying 32 people when the
accident occurred.
An investigation into the exact cause of the accident is
underway.
In another development, compensation was announced yesterday for
the families of victims of last Monday's accident in north China's
Shanxi Province, in which a truck driven by a sleeping driver
killed 20 students and one teacher who were jogging on the
highway.
Du Tianyun, director of the county's publicity department, said
Qinyuan County's civil administration department paid a total of
4.32 million yuan (US$534,000) in damages because the driver's
company was unable to afford it at present.
According to Du, each student's family has received 200,000 yuan
(US$24,700) and the teacher's family 320,000 yuan (US$39,600).
Whether the haulage firm would repay the county government or
not, and if so when, was not reported.
Four badly injured students have been moved to hospitals
equipped with better facilities in the provincial capital of
Taiyuan, while others hospitalized earlier in Qinyuan have been
discharged, said Du.
Police arrested the driver on November 18.
(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2005)