Death toll rises to 14 in NW China bus crash

Updated: 2013-02-02 11:18

(Xinhua)

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LANZHOU - Rescuers have recovered six more bodies from the scene of a bus accident in Northwest China's Gansu province, bringing the death toll to 14, local firefighters said Saturday.

A new round of search and rescue efforts found the bodies, all charred, after 7:40 am, according to the rescue headquarters at the scene.

Death toll rises to 14 in NW China bus crash

Photo taken on Feb 2, 2013 shows the damaged bus after an accident occured in Ningxian county of Qingyang city, in Northwest China's Gansu province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Thirty-two others were injured when the bus fall into a ravine and caught fire around 10 pm Friday near the county seat of Ningxian, Qingyang city, according to sources with the Gansu provincial government.

The bus, carrying mostly migrant farmers and their family members, veered off the road at a curve, tumbling into the ravine that is more than 10 meters deep and catching fire, sources said.

Six bodies were found shortly after the accident, and two others died in the hospital after rescue efforts failed.

The injured have been sent to local hospitals, but their conditions are not yet know.

The bus had a loading capacity of 47 people, and a total of 54 were onboard when it departed from Langfang city in north China's Hebei province, according to the provincial emergency response office.

The accident happened as China's transportation sector is gearing up for the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, a time when hundreds of millions of people travel back to their hometowns for family reunions.

On Saturday morning, 13 people died and 21 others were injured when an overloaded coach turned over and crashed along a 100-meter slope in southwestern province of Guizhou.

On Friday afternoon, a coach carrying 29 people flipped over into a 100-meter-deep slope in Southwest China's Sichuan province, killing seven onboard and injuring 22 others.

Also on Friday, an expressway viaduct collapsed in Central China's Henan province when an explosion occurred on a truck carrying fireworks, leaving at least 10 people dead and injuring 11 others.

Setting off fireworks is a traditional way to celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year, which falls on Feb 10 this year, and improper storage and transportation of the explosives are main reasons behind such accidents.

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