At least 27 people were reported to have died in an auto-crash in China on Sunday in what has been described as the country’s deadliest auto-crash in 2022.
It was gathered that the victims were en route to a Covid-19 quarantine facility when their bus crashed in southwest China.
According to Sandu county police via a social media statement, the crash occurred on a highway in rural Guizhou province when the vehicle carrying 47 people “flipped onto its side”.
Twenty people were being treated for injuries and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene in remote Qiannan prefecture, police said.
According to AFP, the Guizhou government confirmed later Sunday that the vehicle had been “transporting people linked to the epidemic to quarantine” from the provincial capital of Guiyang, and that the accident occurred around 2:40 am (1840 GMT).
“At present, on-site rescue work is basically completed, the treatment of the injured and aftercare of the deceased are being carried out in an orderly manner, and the cause of the accident is under investigation,” the local government said in a social media statement.
It was not clear whether the passengers were infected with Covid, close contacts, or living in the same building as virus patients.
Guizhou has seen more than 900 new infections in the past two days and Guiyang, home to six million people, was locked down earlier in September.
Photos shared widely on social media Sunday showed a gold-coloured passenger bus, its top is completely crumpled, being towed by a truck.
Another viral photo appeared to show the bus driving at night, with the driver and passengers wearing hazmat suits, which are still commonly worn in China to protect against Covid.
