CHENGDU – At least 36 people died while 13 others sustained injuries after a passenger coach crashed into the wall of an expressway tunnel in China’s northwest.
The accident occurred in Shaanxi province late on Thursday as the coach was on its way to Luoyang, a city in central China, from Chengdu, the capital of the southwestern province of Sichuan, the Xinhua News Agency reported, citing the provincial police bureau.
According to Sina news website, the bus had a 51-passenger capacity and was carrying 49 people, including two children.
The injured were sent to the hospital and rescue efforts were ongoing.
Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun ordered a swift investigation into the accident, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.
Last month, 11 people died and nine were injured when a bus carrying 19 people collided with a lorry on a national highway in northern Hebei province.
Ten people were killed and 38 injured in March when a bus collided with a cement truck in the southwestern province of Yunnan.
The World Health Organisation estimates that traffic accidents kill around 260,000 people in mainland China each year – a rate of 18.8 in every 100,000 people.
