11 die as Inventec shuttle bus overturns in Shanghai

Eleven workers of a Taiwanese electronics manufacturer were killed on Wednesday night in Shanghai's deadliest traffic accident for years.

The dead were among 24 people on a shuttle bus of the Inventec (Shanghai) Corporation when it hit a road barrier in Longdong Avenue, Pudong, and overturned just before 9pm. The driver lost control while swerving to avoid a minivan, state media reported.

A 10-metre-long iron barrier and a power pole were knocked down.

The bus had been taking the workers from Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone to their dormitory in Minhang district. Seven people died at the scene and four in hospital. The driver was among the dead.

Three workers remained in the intensive-care unit at Pudong New Area People's Hospital yesterday, while four others were stable.

Zhu Xiaohong of Tianshui in Gansu province said her nephew Zhu Kai, 22, was in serious condition. 'I touched him and he felt like ice,' she said, bursting into tears. 'His eyes and his head were covered with medical gauze, and his body was filled with IVs. Two other workers in the ICU could at least speak a few words, but my nephew is unconscious.' A doctor had told her that he may have suffered brain damage.

A woman in her early 20s whose 17-year-old sister was also in the ICU said her family, also from Gansu, were not thinking about compensation, only hoping that she would make a quick recovery.

A manager from Inventec, who refused to give his full name, said the compensation package would be in accordance with the laws in Shanghai. He said the head of the enterprise was leading a team set up to handle the aftermath of the accident.

The manager said those killed were full-time workers and internship students, and compensation would be equal for all.

Police officers from the Shanghai Public Security Bureau, security guards from Pudong and Inventec staff were stationed at the hospital to prevent journalists from interviewing the patients or their relatives.

Party secretary Yu Zhengsheng and Mayor Han Zheng ordered the treatment of victims and other related issues to be ramped up. Police were still investigating the cause of the accident.