36 killed in bus-tanker collision in China
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At least 36 people were killed when a double-decker sleeper bus collided with a methane-laden tanker and caught fire on Sunday in northern China, the worst traffic accident in more than a year.
The 39-seater bus was full at the time of the crash, which took place on the Baotou-Maoming expressway linking northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Guangdong province in the south, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
It said 39 people were on board the two vehicles when the crash occurred and only three people survived. They were taken to hospital with injuries.
Television footage showed that the bus was completely burnt.
The driver and passenger of the tanker, who were not hurt, were taken into police custody, local police officials said.
The bus was registered in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region while the tanker in central China's Henan province.
The cause of the accident is being investigated. China's roads are highly dangerous, with traffic laws and safety widely flouted across the vast country.
The accident was the worst in China since a fire on an overcrowded sleeper bus carrying flammable materials killed 41 passengers in central China in July last year.
According to police figures, more than 62,000 people died in traffic accidents in the country last year.
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