At least 18 people were killed and 39 others injured in two
fatal traffic accidents on Sunday afternoon in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur and Ningxia Hui autonomous regions, local police
have confirmed.
At about 5:50 PM Sunday at the Shule County section of the
No.315 national highway, a bus heading from Kashi to Yengisar
County in Xinjiang veered out of control on a bridge and careened
into a river, killing 13 and injuring 18 people, according to local
traffic police.
It is still not known how many people were on the bus by press
time. The injured have been hospitalized, but two children are
missing.
In another accident in Haiyuan County in Ningxia, a bus carrying
26 passengers was traveling from Yinchuan City to Guyuan City when
it rammed into a truck and ran off the road at about 4:30 PM
Sunday.
Police confirmed on Monday that five people aboard the bus were
killed on the spot, 21 others were injured and hospitalized. One
person who was slightly injured in the accident has been discharged
from hospital. No one in the truck was hurt.
Local police said that cause of the two accidents is under
investigation.
(Xinhua News Agency May 22, 2006)