A top official has been sacked two days after an accident in which 51 people died when a bus plunged more than 100 metres into a ravine in Sichuan .
A special meeting aimed at looking into the cause of the accident and dealing with issues arising from it was held in Bazhong yesterday morning, the China News Service reported.
The Bazhong Municipal Communist Party Committee had sacked Xian Guangzong - party secretary of the Bazhong Transportation Corporation - at the meeting, the report said. The sacking took immediate effect.
The Bazhong secretary of the party committee, Li Zhongbin , and Mayor Pu Bo delivered their deep regrets to victims' relatives and made self-criticisms to people in the city.
The bus, bound for the eastern province of Zhejiang from Bazhong, veered off a mountainous road and went through barriers before overturning into a ravine in Nanjiang county, killing all 48 passengers and three crew members aboard.
Five taskforces have been set up to oversee efforts in different areas, including compensation for the victims, counselling their relatives and an investigation into the cause of the accident.