Horrific bus crash kills 8, injures 60

By Guan Xiaofeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-15 13:00

Seven people were killed and eight seriously injured in a three-bus collision in Gaoyou, in Jiangsu province, on Sunday.

The accident, in which a packed coach and two funeral buses collided on the highway connecting Huai'an and Jiangdu, happened at 7:51 am on Sunday. The coach hit the second funeral bus before coming to a halt.

A passenger surnamed Chen who was sitting on the back seat of the coach when the collision occurred recalls with horror what he witness of the accident.

"I heard a big explosion and saw stars," he said.

People gather to look at a bus damaged in a highway accident in Gaoyou, Jiangsu province, yesterday morning. [Asianewsphoto]

"The driver, conductor and three passengers were hurled through the windshield."

Four people were killed instantly and three died soon after arriving at the hospital.

More than 60 passengers were injured, eight of them seriously.

The injured were immediately rushed to hospitals in Gaoyou, about 15 km from the scene of the accident.

An orthopaedist surnamed Zhu at the Gaoyou People's hospital, which received 25 injured passengers, said the hospital sent four ambulances and had the best doctors on hand to treat the injured.

"Two badly injured passengers died soon after they arrived at the hospital and five or six are still in critical condition," Zhu said.

"Many suffered fractures, and certain passengers sustained cerebral injury and thoracic trauma."

A doctor surnamed Zhou at the Gaoyou Chinese Medicine Hospital, which received 36 injured passengers, said the hospital suspended all but the most critical of surgical operations and focused on treating people injured in the pile-up.

Cui Jiamin, a spokesman for the Yangzhou city government, said the cause of the accident was still under investigation.