Five Hong Kong family members die in crash in Jiangxi
Five members of a family - two of them Hongkongers - were killed yesterday when the van they were travelling in collided with a truck on a highway in Jiangxi province.
A Hong Kong man surnamed Ip was driving the van carrying his wife, a son, a daughter, his parents-in-law and his brother-in-law along the Ying-Rui Highway in Ningdu county when the accident happened at about 5am, Xinhua reported.
Ip, his son, the parents-in-law, and his brother-in-law were confirmed dead at the scene by emergency rescue crews.
His wife and daughter were injured and taken to Ningdu County People's Hospital, before being transferred to a better-equipped hospital. They were in stable condition.
Ip and at least three of the passengers were said to be Hong Kong residents.
The report provided no details about the truck, which carried a licence plate issued by Anhui province. The van carried a plate from Guangdong province.
Government and party leaders from Jiangxi province as well as the police bureau had contacted the Hong Kong government's office in Guangdong.
They launched a "full-scale" rescue after the crash, the report said, adding that traffic police from Ganzhou city and Jiangxi also joined the operation.
The authorities are investigating why the crash happened.
A member of staff at Ningdu County People's Hospital said in a telephone interview that the mother and daughter were transferred to a better-equipped hospital in Ganzhou, a prefectural city which oversees Ningdu, at about 4pm yesterday.
"Both of them suffered from fractures to different parts of their bodies," Lu said. "I'm not sure whether they are in critical condition or not."
A Hong Kong government spokesman said they were contacting the office in Guangdong for more details.
