Eighteen dead after coach collides with truck on Chinese highway
Head-on crash happened in central province of Hunan when passenger vehicle crossed central reservation
At least 18 people were killed and 14 others injured in a head-on collision between a coach and a truck in central China, local police said on Saturday.
The accident in Hunan province happened on Friday night when the passenger vehicle crossed a central reservation on a highway in Hengdong county and hit the truck.
Nine people from the coach and one from the truck were confirmed dead on Friday night.
The death toll was increased to 18 on Saturday, and the injured were receiving treatment in four local hospitals.
Traffic controls were imposed after the accident which led to traffic jams of up to 10km (6 miles) in either direction. Local police said their investigation had finished by Saturday morning and the roads fully reopened.
The coach was travelling from Zhongshan in Guangdong province bound for Pingyu in Henan province, where the operators are based.
The 1,400km journey normally takes around 25 hours and staff members at the coach company told The Beijing News the vehicle should carry two drivers at all times.
Its report said the coach was carrying around 20 passengers, less than half the permitted maximum of 55.