Train-bus collision in northeast China kills 9, injures 36

USPA News - A freight train slammed into an overcrowded passenger bus in northeastern China on early Monday morning, killing nine people and injuring more than 30 others after a guard failed to arrive on time to warn vehicles about the oncoming train. The accident happened at around 7:30 a.m. local time on Monday when the passenger bus, belonging to the Wudalianchi Passenger Transport Company, attempted to cross a railway crossing in Heihe, a city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang.

The bus was struck by a passing freight train as it entered the crossing. Heihe`s work safety watchdog told the state-run Xinhua news agency that nine people were killed, correcting a previous report from Xinhua which said ten people had died. Five of the victims died at the scene of the accident, one died en-route to hospital and three more died while receiving treatment at an area hospital. Xinhua said 36 people were also injured in the collision, but their conditions were not immediately known. It is believed all of the victims were on board the passenger bus, which was overloaded as it had a maximum capacity of 35 people. Casualty figures suggest no less than 45 people were on board. The railway crossing where the accident took place had no gates although a guard was assigned to warn vehicles of coming trains. But Xinhua said the guard was informed too late about the oncoming freight train and failed to reach the railway crossing in time, causing it to be unguarded at the time of the accident. The railway safety administration authorities of Harbin, the provincial capital, have dispatched a team to investigate the exact cause of the accident. The train driver is believed to have survived the accident, but it was not immediately clear whether the bus driver was among those killed or injured. Roads in China are known to be among the most dangerous in the world with more than 70,000 fatalities and 300,000 injuries a year, according to the country`s Public Security Ministry. Many accidents are the result of drivers violating traffic laws, fatigue, poor road conditions and overloaded vehicles.