China: Eight killed when overcrowded van slams into truck

2011-07-21 09:34:10 GMT+7 (ICT)

WENZHOU, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- Eight people were killed on early Thursday morning when an overcrowded van slammed into the rear of a heavy haul trailer on a highway in east China, state-run media reported.

The accident happened at around 4.49 a.m. local time on a highway which links Ningbo and Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province, located in the country's east. All the casualties were on the van, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua said the van had only three seats but was carrying a total of 12 people, eight of whom were hidden in the van's carriage compartment. Eight of those on the van were killed when the vehicle slammed into a trailer, while four others were seriously injured.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-07-21

I have lived in Bangkok for 6 years, and the driving in Thailand is terrible... this is fact.

I visited mainland China once for 3 days only, but in my opinion; they make Thai drivers look good.

Had this accident happened in Thailand, there would already be 100+ comments on how bad the driving is here.

It is bad in Thailand, but it is much worse in China.

I haven't been to China for a number of years, but when I lived in Hong Kong, I frequently went to China for work. At that time, the driving was atrocious. That was in the South of China and business was brisk, roads were terrible.