Tragedy unfolded yesterday evening close to Nanjing as a dump track crashed into a mini bus, killing eight people and injuring eight more. It is believed most of the victims to be women working as express courier handlers in Nanjing.
At 05:23 today, the traffic police of Ma’anshan Public Security Bureau reported via their Weibo account that the accident occurred yesterday, 15 November 15, at 22:11. The location was a relatively remote intersection, where Qinling Avenue and Xinhe Xi Lu meet in Bowang Town of Bowang District in the nearby city of Ma’anshan.
Some of the injured are known to be in the Intensive Care Unit in the emergency department at Deyu Medical Treatment Ma’anshan General Hospital.
Witnesses at the scene and the staff of a shop near the intersection told The Paper that they had seen the mini bus enter the left-turn lane at around 22:00 yesterday. Upon colliding, the dump truck obliterated one whole side of the bus. The dead and injured were said to be lying on the road at the scene.
Staff at a funeral home in Dangtu County of Ma’anshan City have confirmed that they have received seven fatalities, of which six were female.
It is understood the bus was a shuttle transport, taking workers to the logistics hub at Nanjing International Lukou Airport, where they were employed in the distribution of express courier deliveries.
The incident has also been deemed serious enough to warrant an official announcement on behalf of newly-elected Zheng Shanjie, Secretary of Anhui Provincial Party Committee, in response to the accident. Among his instructions were that senior representatives of Ma’anshan Municipal Party Committee visit and sympathise with the injured and families of the victims.
60 year-old Secretary Zheng, a native of Fujian Province, took office as recently as 1 November. Joining the Communist Party of China in 1985, he holds a Master of Business Administration.
Ma’anshan is but a 16-minute high-speed train journey from Nanjing, just across the Anhui provincial border. The two cities shall also soon be linked by Nanjing’s first intercity metro line, opening by year end.
