Bus fire kills 41 passengers in central China

[News_Editor]

Bus fire kills 41 passengers in central China

2011-07-22 19:25:36 GMT+7 (ICT)

XINYANG, CHINA (BNO NEWS) -- More than 40 passengers were killed on early Friday morning when an overcrowded double-decker bus caught fire on a highway in central China, state-run media reported.

The accident happened at around 4 a.m. local time in Xinyang City of Henan Province on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway. The passenger bus was carrying a total of 47 people even though it was designed for only 35 passengers, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Xinhua said all but six people on the sleeper bus were killed when the bus caught fire. One of the injured was taken to Zhumadian No. 159 hospital in Zhumadian City in a critical condition while the other five - which includes the bus driver - were taken to a hospital in Xinyang. Their conditions were not immediately known.

Photos released by the news agency showed the vehicle, which had two levels, was completely burnt out as it stood on the side of the road. Police said the remains recovered from the scene were burned beyond recognition and will have to be identified by DNA testing.

The bus was reportedly on its way from Weihai in eastern Shandong Province to central Hunan's provincial capital Changsha. Xinhua said it was the deadliest bus accident in years.

Roads in China are known to be among the most dangerous in the world with more than 70,000 fatalities in 2009 alone. Many accidents are the result of drivers violating traffic laws, bad road conditions and overloaded vehicles.

Earlier this month, a total of 26 people were killed when a truck rear-ended a passenger bus in Hubei province of central China. Nearly 30 others were injured.

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