With many tourist sites across the country reporting record
numbers of visitors during the ongoing Golden Week holidays, travel
accidents resulting in injuries and deaths have also been
frequently rocking the nation in the past few days.
The National Holiday Office, a government agency established for
Golden Week holiday operations, has warned local governments,
tourist companies, resort sites and tourists as well, that they
must take precautions against accidents.
The most deadly accident happened about 8:30 AM Friday in
Lincang City in southwest Yunnan Province. Fourteen were killed and
45 injured as a heavy-duty truck ploughed into a crowd waiting at a
bus stop.
The truck, departing Yunnan for the municipality of Chongqing,
lost control after it collided head-on with a passenger car. Nine
people waiting on the roadside were killed instantly. Five more
died on the way to the hospital.
In the capital city of Beijing, a group of nine senior citizens
climbed the Fragrance Mountains in eastern suburbs of Beijing at
the small hours on Friday, but came back with eight alive. A
64-year-old man died of a heart attack. Rescuers said poor mobile
phone signals in the remote areas and darkness made it harder for
them to reach the man before it was too late.
Also on Friday, a man was drowned in the One-Hundred-Flower
Valley, also a popular tourist destination in southeastern
Beijing.
The same day, a group of four daring young people trekking the
Yunmeng Mountains in suburban Beijing got themselves lost twice.
For the first time, they happened to come across a park staff and
got helped once. And the second time, they were lucky to be rescued
by the patrolling police near the park.
On May 2, an avalanche in Yunnan killed 2, injured 7. The same
day, an aeroboat and yacht collided at a waterborne recreational
center in Nanjing, and seriously injured a 13-year-old girl.
The National Holiday Office said in a circular seen by Xinhua on
Saturday that many expedition-inspired tourists are prone to
accidents when in remote areas or out of the periphery of parks and
tourist resorts. Tourists who are obsessive with adventures during
the holidays "should be well prepared and instructed by
professionals," it said.
The rising number of private cars in Chinese cities has given
rise to the new generation of adventurers who are fascinated with
outdoor explorations during holiday time.
China has seen tourists accidents almost every day since the
beginning of this May Day Holiday.
Two rafts collided with each other in water on May 1, in a park
in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province, causing 6
people to be injured.
(Xinhua News Agency May 5, 2007)