Initial investigations indicate that speeding and reckless
driving may have played a part in a fatal traffic accident in
northwest China's Gansu Province which killed 28 people,
according to officials Tuesday.
The accident happened about 1:40 PM on Monday in the city of
Tianshui when a heavy truck with three people in it collided first
with a minivan and then a bus carrying 47 people.
The truck is suspected of traveling at 100kph?on the
stretch of road where the speed limit is 40kph.
Investigators found the truck was in poor condition which may
also have been a factor in the cause of the accident.?
Twenty-four people including the truck driver were killed at the
accident scene and four others died later -- one on the way to
hospital and a further three after arriving for medical
treatment.?
All those who died, including a three-year-old child, had been
identified, said Hu Hong, director of the technology department
with the local public security bureau.
The majority of those who died were local people of Maiji
District in Tianshui. Their families will receive financial
assistance for the funerals, said Jiang Xiaoqiang, Party Secretary
of Maiji District Committee of Communist Party of China.
An injured crash victim is examined at the First People's
Hospital in Tianshui.
(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2006)