20000122

17 killed in

Chinese bus

accident

BEIJING: Seventeen people were killed and nine injured in a head-on collision between a gas tanker and a passenger bus in the central province of Henan, state media said on Friday.

The bus was travelling on a highway between Xin village and Fan county on Wednesday when the tanker crashed into it while trying to speed pass a section of the highway clouded in smoke, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

The smoke was created by a peasant burning wheat straws near the highway, the paper said.

The driver, ticket collector and a pedestrian were among 16 people who were killed instantly. One person died on the way to the hospital. Nine other passengers were injured.

The driver of the tanker has been detained for investigation. Traffic accidents are expected to increase in the run-up and aftermath of the Lunar New Year, the biggest annual celebration in China, which begins on February 5 this year.

Bus companies frequently require their drivers to work overtime to cope with the increased passenger load.ÑAFP