18 workers killed when overloaded minibus plunges into roadside lake

Eighteen people were killed when an overloaded minibus plunged into a roadside lake in Hubei province early on Friday morning, local authorities said.

The minibus was carrying 19 passengers and a driver when the accident occurred near Miaoling, a township in Ezhou, at about 6 am on Friday. Only the driver and one passenger survived the accident.

Ma Yichun, an Ezhou work safety and supervision official, said heavy fog, with visibility of less than 100 meters, may have been a factor in the accident, the Associated Press reported.