17 killed, 22 injured in road crash in China due to 'foggy weather'

Beijing, Jan 08: 17 people were killed and 22 injured on Sunday morning in a road accident in eastern China's Jiangxi province, reported Chinese State media, CCTV.

"The accident caused 17 deaths, 22 people were injured, the injured have been sent to the hospital," state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing local authorities.

The "major road traffic accident" took place just before 1 am (1700 GMT) in Nanchang County, according to the report. "The cause of the accident is under in-depth investigation," CCTV added. As the crash news emerged, Nanchang County traffic police issued travel tips to drivers saying the area was experiencing "foggy weather".

"Driving visibility is poor, there is low visibility, which can easily cause traffic accidents," it said. "Please pay attention to fog lights... slow down, drive carefully, keep a safe distance from the car in front, avoid pedestrians, do not change lanes and overtake," it added.

Road accidents are common in China due to a lack of strict safety controls. Last month, one person died during a highway pile-up in central China that involved hundreds of vehicles and was caused by low visibility in fog, reported RTE.

In September, at least 27 people were killed and 20 others injured when a passenger bus transporting them to a coronavirus quarantine centre crashed in China's Guizhou province. This had promoted online criticism of Beijing's zero-COVID policy.

The official media reported that the bus overturned on a highway in Guizhou province but there was no mention that the vehicle was transporting people to the quarantine centre. Later reports emerged on social media that the bus was transporting contacts of COVID-positive patients from Guiyang, but the comments were soon censored, according to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported.

Notably, unconfirmed photos posted online showed everyone on the vehicle, including the driver, wearing white hazmat suits and goggles.

With input from agencies