Adam
08-05-02, 11:59 AM
Bus swept off bridge in China
August 05, 2002
BEIJING: At least 18 people were confirmed dead and 11 others missing when a bus in north-western China's Gansu province was swept off a bridge by rising flood waters, state media said.
The accident happened late last night in a torrential downpour near Dingxi county, around 100km south-east of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, the Xinhua news agency reported on its website.
The long-distance bus, with 33 passengers and a driver on board, originated in Lanzhou and was headed for Zhenyuan county when it was swept off the bridge in the mountainous region, the report said.
Local officials and police today were continuing to search for the missing passengers.
Floods across China have already left more than 800 dead this year, with the vast majority dying in flash floods and landslides during June, many in areas rarely hit by high rainfall.
Overall, the floods have affected around 100 million people, with about 1.8 million displaced, according to government civil affairs officials.
China also has an appalling road safety record. A total of 44,000 people died on China's roads in the first five months of this year, a 6.6 per cent increase from the same period in 2001, official figures show.
Agence France-Presse
Source. (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4845660%255E401,00.html)
August 05, 2002
BEIJING: At least 18 people were confirmed dead and 11 others missing when a bus in north-western China's Gansu province was swept off a bridge by rising flood waters, state media said.
The accident happened late last night in a torrential downpour near Dingxi county, around 100km south-east of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, the Xinhua news agency reported on its website.
The long-distance bus, with 33 passengers and a driver on board, originated in Lanzhou and was headed for Zhenyuan county when it was swept off the bridge in the mountainous region, the report said.
Local officials and police today were continuing to search for the missing passengers.
Floods across China have already left more than 800 dead this year, with the vast majority dying in flash floods and landslides during June, many in areas rarely hit by high rainfall.
Overall, the floods have affected around 100 million people, with about 1.8 million displaced, according to government civil affairs officials.
China also has an appalling road safety record. A total of 44,000 people died on China's roads in the first five months of this year, a 6.6 per cent increase from the same period in 2001, official figures show.
Agence France-Presse
Source. (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,4845660%255E401,00.html)