> Home | Tibet News | January 7th, 2005

Death toll from road accident in Qinghai rises to 55

The death toll from a severe road accident that happened Monday in northwest China's Qinghai Province rose to 55, local sources told Xinhua Thursday noon.

The accident occurred at about noon when a truck turned over near the Kuola Mountain, about 10 kilometers from Longbao township, Yushu Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of the province. Fifty people died on the spot and four died on the way to hospital. Twenty-nine passengers were seriously injured that day, said the sources.

The one newly confirmed dead, who was from Ganzi County, southwest China's Sichuan Province, passed away 11:30 Wednesday night from failed medical rescue efforts.

According to the People's Hospital of Yushu prefecture, 4 injured people from the road accident are still in danger, and of them, three have serious brain trauma, and one suffers high paraplegia from fracture-dislocation of cervical spine.

In a related report, police arrested Tuesday the truck driver involved in the accident. The 26-year-old Tibetan from Sichuan was arrested on charges of improper operation of the vehicle.

Preliminary investigation shows that the truck was overloaded and the drive license was expired. The driver also violated the rule that trucks are not allowed to carry passengers.

The truck was carrying 104 passengers who were returning from a pilgrimage in Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region.

Relative links:

• Road accident kills 54 in Qinghai