A road accident in central China's snow-plagued Hunan Province
killed four people and injured five others, local officials said on
Monday.
The overloaded sedan with nine passengers skidded off a road and
broke through a guardrail before plunging into a river at around 11
p.m. on Sunday when it was crossing a bridge in Le'an Town, Anhua
County.
Four people, including three migrant workers and a college girl
returning home, died at the site while the other five were taken to
hospital. One of the injured remained in critical condition on
Monday afternoon.
An Anhua traffic police attributed the accident to a slippery
road surface caused by snow and overloading.
Snow has been falling in various parts of China since
mid-January, leading to death, structural collapse, blackouts,
accidents, transport problems and livestock and crop
destruction.
The snow havoc has hit 19 provinces, municipalities and
autonomous regions, toppled 223,000 homes and damaged another
862,000, said the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
Scores of people have died in snow-related accidents, according
to reports from the provinces and regions.
(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2008)