58 Chinese killed on roads amid holiday travel rush

Five road accidents in two days have claimed the lives of at least 58 people, as thousands of Chinese started travelling across the country for the Lunar New Year.

At least 19 people were killed in south China's Guangxi Zhuang region, both involving overloaded vehicles veering off the road, the China Daily reported.

A van tumbled down a 30-metre-deep ravine, killing seven people, police said.
An overloaded bus turned over and slid down a 100-metre slope in Guizhou, killing 12 people. The bus was taking the people to a bullfight.

On Friday night, another bus in Gansu fell into a ravine and caught fire. Sixteen bodies were found after the accident, and two people died in a hospital.

A bus carrying 29 people fell into a 100-metre-deep slope in the southwestern province of Sichuan, killing 11.

On Friday, 10 people died when an 80-metre stretch of an expressway viaduct collapsed after an explosion in a truck carrying fireworks for holiday celebrations in central Henan province.

China's transport sector gets choked during the Spring Festival (or Chinese Lunar New Year), the most important occasion for family reunions.

The rail network is expected to handle 225 million trips, while long-distance buses will carry over three billion passengers.

However, speeding and overloading and poor road conditions in mountainous regions often lead to accidents.

About 70,000 people die and 300,000 are injured in accidents each year, says the ministry of public security.