Pile-up on Chinese motorway kills 17
Updated | By AFP
A huge pile-up on a Chinese motorway killed at least 17 people when a total of 56 vehicles crashed into each other in winter weather, state media said Tuesday.
The accident happened in snow and rainy weather in the northern province of Shanxi, on an expressway linking Beijing with Kunming, the official news agency Xinhua reported.
Pictures of the scene showed lorries scattered haphazardly across the road, some of them overturned, and burnt-out wrecks of cars after the crash Monday.
Another 37 injured people were stable after treatment, Xinhua said.
Traffic accidents are common in China, with the World Health Organization estimating that more than 260,000 people were killed on the country's roads in 2013.
The WHO figures are strikingly higher than official pronouncements, in a country where government data are often questioned, with the National Bureau of Statistics reporting 58,539 traffic fatalities that year -- less than a quarter of the WHO's approximation.
Show's Stories
-
Venue responds to baby on floor at Taylor Swift concert
Taylor Swift is currently on the European leg of her record-breaking Era...
The Drive with Rob & Roz 2 minutes ago -
Man shocks petrol attendant whilst taking out wallet
If this was meant to be funny, then we are canceling this man...
The Workzone with Alex Jay 4 hours ago