Overloading and speeding may have contributed to a bus accident
that has left 25 people confirmed dead and six others injured this
morning in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing.
The bus carrying 31 passengers, six more than its allowable
limit, drove through the guardrail of a highway overpass and
plunged 13 meters to the ground.
The accident happened at around 8:25 AM as the bus was traveling
from the Yubei District to Beibei District.
All the injured, including the bus driver, have been sent to the
No.9 People's Hospital of Chongqing and the traditional Chinese
medicine hospital of Beibei District.
A rescuer who declined to give his name told Xinhua that 22
people died at the scene and two others died on the way to
hospital. One of the seriously injured succumbed to injuries later
in the hospital.
Police blame overloading and speeding as the main causes of the
accident and overnight rain made the road unexpectedly slick,
causing the driver to lose control of the bus.
Government leaders including Zhou Mubing, Chongqing's vice
mayor, have been supervising the rescue operation.
(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2007)