Three students were killed and two others injured as they walked
along a highway in northwest China's Shaanxi
Province?when the driver of a truck fully loaded with coal
mishandled his vehicle.
According to local police, the tragedy took place near the
Baiyangdian section of National Highway No. 312 in Shangzhou around
6 AM on Tuesday. The coal truck, which belongs to Hongxing
Automobile Transport of Yulin City, rammed a tractor after hitting
the students. The tractor operator was seriously injured.
At press time, all the injured remained hospitalized.
The owner of the truck has surrendered to the local police, but
the driver is missing.?
On Wednesday, police in central China's Henan
Province confirmed that a minibus caught fire after an
explosion on Monday, leaving five people dead and 23 others
injured.
??
The accident occurred Monday afternoon in Minquan County, in the
eastern part of the province. The bus, with 29 people onboard,
appeared to be operating normally until suddenly smoke began
emerging from its front portion.
The injured, six of whom were severely burned, were sent
immediately to two local hospitals.
Police said that a preliminary investigation showed that the
fuel tank of the minibus remained intact. The cause of the
explosion is still under investigation.
The incident occurred less than a week after another bus
explosion and fire in the east China city of Nanjing left 17 dead
and five others injured. Preliminary investigations in that case
led police to believe that fireworks or similar devices may have
been stored near the driver's seat, exploding when a small fire
started.
(Xinhua News Agency, China.org.cn March 2, 2005)