Two killed, dozens injured inChina holiday highway pileup

At least two people were killed and dozens injured today when vehicles piled up together on a highway section in China's eastern Jiangsu province.

The accident took place at the Changzhou section of the highway linking Shanghai and Nanjing.

It caught public eye as people began posting photos and videos in Chinese social media WeChat and Weibo.

Images showed dozens of trucks, buses and cars crashed into each other in eccentric positions. People were standing on top of the vehicles.

A traffic police officer with the Changzhou city said at least two people died and they were still counting number of people injured, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
 

At least two trucks, three buses and 20 cars crashed into each other. It rained and roads were slippery, he said.

Today was the first day of a three-day national holiday marking the Tomb-Sweeping Day, a traditional Chinese festival celebrated on the first day of the fifth solar term of the Chinese lunisolar calendar.
(Reopens FGN 9)

Following the accident, China's work safety watchdog has ordered safety checks of buses nationwide.

The administration ordered local authorities to launch safety inspections on coaches, step up training of drivers and crack down on overloading, speeding and fatigued driving to prevent major accident, Xinhua news agency reported.