Chinese New Year is right around the corner - the Spring Festival falls on Feb. 10 this year. The New Year always means peak travel season in China - and this year, more than 50 people have already been killed on the country's roads in four major accidents since Friday, according to the Associated Press.
In Sichuan, a southwestern Chinese province, a bus overturned on Friday, killing 11 people, the Gulin county government told the Associated Press.
In Congjiang County, southwest China's Guizhou province, 13 people died and 21 others were injured, including 11 seriously, after an overloaded coach flipped over and crashed along a 100-meter slope around 9 a.m. on Saturday, Xinhua News Agency reported. Five people died instantly, followed by eight others on the way in transit to, or inside the hospital. An initial investigation indicated the coach, meant for 19 passengers, was instead carrying 34 when the accident happened.
A further investigation as to the cause of the accident is underway, Xinhua News Agency reported.
And on Friday night in the northwestern province of Gansu, the Associated Press reported, a coach bus went off the road at a curve, rolled down a slope and caught fire. Eighteen people were killed and 32 injured, the provincial government and state media told the Associated Press.
In another devastating accident, a truck loaded with fireworks for Lunar New Year celebrations exploded Friday morning, causing an elevated portion of the highway to collapse, sending vehicles crashing to the ground.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
