Eight Britons were injured in a highway accident on Monday in
Zhouzhi County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the local foreign affairs
office said on Tuesday.
Except for one person who needed surgery for hemopneumothorax,
an accumulation of air and blood in the thorax, the other seven
suffered only slight injuries.
Fifteen?British environmental volunteers took a locally
registered tour bus on Monday to the giant panda nature reserve at
Foping, Shaanxi.
The accident took place on their way back. The bus reportedly
veered out of control when the driver tried to avoid hitting a
motorbike near the entrance of Loutai Cement Company inside Zhouzhi
County. The bus ran off the road and overturned.
Local villagers rushed to the site of the accident to offer
help.
All the injured were treated in hospitals in Xi'an, the
provincial capital. The seven were only slightly hurt are currently
staying at a hotel in Xi'an.
Further investigations into the cause of the accident are
underway.
(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)