14 Children Killed in Chinese Road Accidents

VOA News
26 December 2010

Twin tragedies struck Monday on China's highways, with 14 schoolchildren killed in one accident and seven people killed in a 100-car pileup in a neighboring province.

The official Xinhua news agency said the children were being driven to school Monday morning when their vehicle plunged off the road and into a creek in central Hunan province. Xinhua said another six children are being treated for injuries in a hospital.

In neighboring Guizhou province, Xinhua said a truck crashed into a gas station at about 8:00 a.m. during heavy fog. The road blockage caused at least 100 other vehicles to smash into the back of one another, creating a 20-kilometer backup on the highway.

Xinhua said six people died at the scene and one died later in a hospital. The news agency said 15 others were injured.