12 dead in highway inferno

A damaged truck is moved from a tunnel on the highway linking Zhangjiakou and Shijiazhuang in Hebei province on Tuesday. Zhu Xudong/Xinhua

SHIJIAZHUANG - Twelve people were killed and 15 others were injured after a crash triggered by two trucks in Hebei province on Tuesday morning.

The crash happened at around 6:20 am when an oil tanker rear-ended a coal truck in a tunnel on the highway linking the cities of Zhangjiakou and Shijiazhuang, according to the Laiyuan county government.

A subsequent explosion and fire engulfed the scene. Twelve people died as a direct result of the crash, and 12 residents were injured when their homes caught fire. Nine vehicles were damaged.

All the injured are being treated in hospital.

Zhao Kezhi, Party chief of Hebei, demanded that authorities launch an investigation to find the cause of the accident.

Xinhua - China Daily