Road crash kills 5, injures 16 in China's Sichuan

CHENGDU -- Five people were killed and another 16 injured in a road accident in Southwest China's Sichuan province on Thursday, authorities said on Friday.

A truck rolled over and crashed into a passenger bus at about 5 pm on Thursday on a sloped section of the Zhushi Road in Mama town of Dazhu county in the city of Dazhou, according to the Party publicity department of the county.

Twenty people, including the driver and the conductor, were on the 30-seater bus, while the driver was the only person in the truck when the accident occurred.

One person died at the scene, while four others later died in hospital, despite medical efforts to save their lives. The injured are being treated in hospital and their injuries are not life-threatening.

Preliminary investigations showed that the truck was out of control while turning right on the downslope of the road and ended up rolling over onto the bus, which was traveling upslope.

Further investigations are underway.