36 die in fiery inferno as sleeper coach hits tanker in northwestern China

At least 36 people died and two were in critical condition when a double-decker coach was engulfed in a fire ball after it slammed into the back of a tanker truck full of formaldehyde in Shaanxi province yesterday.

The collision happened at 2.40am on the Ansai section of Baotou-Maoming expressway outside Yanan. China News Service reported that rescuers found 36 bodies in the wrecked coach, which was travelling from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia to Xian, the capital of Shaanxi province. The bus driver was among the dead.

Only three passengers were able to escape as most were asleep at the time of the accident. State media reported that two passengers, a man from Hohhot and a woman from Sichuan province, were in critical condition with severe burns.

China Central Television quoted the third survivor, who was on the upper deck at the rear of the bus, as saying that none of the windows could be opened except a small one near his bed, through which he escaped.

The two drivers of the tanker survived and were being questioned by police. The truck had travelled from Henan province carrying 35 tonnes of formaldehyde. China News Service said the collision happened only a few minutes after the drivers had returned to the expressway after taking a break at a rest area.

Yue Jiuxiang, Yanan city's chief firefighter, told the China News Service that a huge fire immediately engulfed the coach as the formaldehyde, a highly flammable and toxic liquid, leaked from the tank truck.