At least 38 people are believed to have been killed when a truck carrying flammable liquid collided with a double-decker, long-distance bus on a highway in Hunan province in central China.
The collision triggered an explosion and fire that destroyed five vehicles. Five people were injured in the accident. The bus, with capacity for 53 occupants, was travelling between the eastern coastal province of Fujian and Guizhou in the southwest when the crash occurred.
Fatal road accidents are a serious problem in China, where the highway network and number of new drivers are expanding rapidly while traffic laws and safety are widely flouted. At least 42 people were killed in June last year when fire engulfed a bus in the city of Xiamen, Fujian. In August 2012, at least 36 people died in northern China when a double-decker sleeper bus slammed into the rear of a methanol tanker and burst into flames.
