Two China expressway collisions kill 47, injure 4

 YAN'AN/CHENGDU, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- Forty-seven people were killed and four others injured in two separate expressway collisions in China on Sunday, making it another bloodiest¹ day in years.

The first accident occurred at around 2:18 a.m. in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, when a fully-loaded double-decker sleeper² rammed³ into a methanol-loaded tanker⁴, triggering a fire that instantly engulfed⁵ both vehicles and leaving 36 people aboard the bus dead, including the bus driver.

Only three people escaped from the bus and two of them suffered serious burning injuries. The two drivers of the tanker, who were not hurt in the collision, were taken into police custody⁶.

In another accident, a van carrying 12 people crashed into a heavy-duty truck Sunday afternoon on an expressway in southwest China's Sichuan Province, leaving 10 people on the van dead at the scene and another two badly injured.

The two injured were sent to a nearby hospital and one died at 3:30 p.m.after rescue efforts failed.

The truck was at roadside for tire repair when the van rear-ended with it, according to local work safety authorities.

In Shaanxi's accident, the 39-seat bus was full at the time of the crash, which occurred about 200 meters from Ansai service station on the Baotou-Maoming expressway linking northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous⁸ Region and Guangdong Province in the south.

The bus, which was heading from Inner Mongolia's capital Hohhot to Shaanxi's capital city of Xi'an rear-ended the tanker, which just returned to the expressway after an early morning rest stop in the station close to Yan'an City in Shaanxi.

A staff member of a nearby gas station said he heard the sound of the crashing, which seemed not loud. "It sounded like tire bursting," said the man, who did not give his name.

After a short while, fire broke out at the scene. He and his colleagues rushed to the scene with extinguishers, hoping to put out the blaze.

"The fire was so big that our efforts were only proved in vain," he said.

Fire brigade in Ansai County received alarm call at about 2:40 a.m. and three fire engines and 10 fire fighters were immediately dispatched to the scene, said Wei Chaoyang, director of the fire brigade.

"After arriving at the scene, we found that the fire was very big and the methanol that leaked from the tanker was keeping running to the bus and nearby drainage, forming a 'running fire' that hampered⁹ our rescue," Wei said.

The fire was finally put out at about 3:42 a.m., according to Wei.

Both witnesses at the scene and fire fighters believed that leaked methanol from the tanker ran to the bus and caught fire, trapping the passengers who were not able to escape within a short time.

Meanwhile, it was in the wee hours of the morning when the accident happened and most passengers were in deep sleep, leaving them little chance of survival from the inferno¹⁰, they said.

The front end of the bus had been seriously deformed¹¹ in the accident and the whole body of the bus was only left with a charred¹² skeleton frame, according to the Xinhua reporters at the scene.

Two of the three survivors¹⁴ suffered serious burnings and inhalation injuries, while another survivor¹³, Wang Xianze, was only slightly injured.

Wang, from Yunyang County in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, recalled that when the accident happened, he was sleeping on his upper berth¹⁵, which was at the last row on the left side.

"It was like an explosion, and I was hardly able to breathe due to the shocking wave and not aware what had happened," Wang said.

"After regaining¹⁶ my consciousness, I fumbled¹⁷ about with my body and head and found I was not injured. So I opened the window by my side and jumped out," he said.

Wang's leg was scratched while he was jumping out, and he was taken to hospital by a passer-by.

He said it was within only about two minutes that he escaped, while many others inside even had no time to take actions before they were engulfed by the fire.

The tanker, owned by Mengzhou No. 1 Transport Co., Ltd. in central Henan Province, was transporting methanol from Shaanxi-based Yulin Energy and Chemical Co., Ltd to the eastern province Shandong. The bus belongs to Hohhot Municipal Transport Group.

The State Council has sent an investigation¹⁸ team to Yan'an to look into the accident and oversee¹⁹ the rescue efforts, according to the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).

The team, headed by SAWS deputy director Sun Huashan and Vice⁷ Minister of Public Security Huang Ming, called an on-site meeting in the afternoon, vowing²⁰ to investigate and affix²¹ the responsibility for the accident.

In the meantime, lessons must be drawn²² from the accident so that such tragedies will not reoccur, said an official with the investigation team.

Local governments both at provincial²³ and municipal levels will ascertain²⁴ the identities of the deceased as soon as possible, an official with the Shaanxi provincial government said.

Further investigations²⁵ into the two accidents are under way.

Traffic accidents on China's roads result in about 70,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries each year, according to the Ministry²⁶ of Public Security. Speeding, fatigue²⁷, drunk-driving and poor road conditions are usually blamed.

Sunday's road accident in Shaanxi is the worst in China since July last year when a fire on an overloaded²⁸ sleeper bus killed 41 passengers and injured six others on an expressway in central China's Henan Province.

1 bloodiest   

adj.血污的( bloody的最高级 )；流血的；屠杀的；残忍的

参考例句：

• The Russians were going to suffer their bloodiest defeat of all before Berlin. 俄国人在柏林城下要遭到他们的最惨重的失败。 来自辞典例句
• It was perhaps the bloodiest hour in the history of warfare. 这也许是战争史上血腥味最浓的1个小时。 来自互联网

2 sleeper   

n.睡眠者，卧车，卧铺

参考例句：

• I usually go up to London on the sleeper. 我一般都乘卧车去伦敦。
• But first he explained that he was a very heavy sleeper. 但首先他解释说自己睡觉很沉。

3 rammed   

v.夯实（土等）( ram的过去式和过去分词 )；猛撞；猛压；反复灌输

参考例句：

• Two passengers were injured when their taxi was rammed from behind by a bus. 公共汽车从后面撞来，出租车上的两位乘客受了伤。
• I rammed down the earth around the newly-planted tree. 我将新栽的树周围的土捣硬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 tanker   

n.油轮

参考例句：

• The tanker took on 200,000 barrels of crude oil.油轮装载了二十万桶原油。
• Heavy seas had pounded the tanker into three parts.汹涌的巨浪把油轮撞成三载。

5 engulfed   

v.吞没，包住( engulf的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was engulfed by a crowd of reporters. 他被一群记者团团围住。
• The little boat was engulfed by the waves. 小船被波浪吞没了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

7 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

8 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

9 hampered   

妨碍，束缚，限制( hamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The search was hampered by appalling weather conditions. 恶劣的天气妨碍了搜寻工作。
• So thought every harassed, hampered, respectable boy in St. Petersburg. 圣彼德堡镇的那些受折磨、受拘束的体面孩子们个个都是这么想的。

10 inferno   

n.火海；地狱般的场所

参考例句：

• Rescue workers fought to get to victims inside the inferno.救援人员奋力营救大火中的受害者。
• The burning building became an inferno.燃烧着的大楼成了地狱般的地方。

11 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

12 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

14 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

15 berth   

n.卧铺，停泊地，锚位；v.使停泊

参考例句：

• She booked a berth on the train from London to Aberdeen.她订了一张由伦敦开往阿伯丁的火车卧铺票。
• They took up a berth near the harbor.他们在港口附近找了个位置下锚。

16 regaining   

复得( regain的现在分词 )； 赢回； 重回； 复至某地

参考例句：

• She was regaining consciousness now, but the fear was coming with her. 现在她正在恢发她的知觉，但是恐怖也就伴随着来了。
• She said briefly, regaining her will with a click. 她干脆地答道，又马上重新振作起精神来。

17 fumbled   

（笨拙地）摸索或处理（某事物）( fumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 乱摸，笨拙地弄； 使落下

参考例句：

• She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief. 她在她口袋里胡乱摸找手帕。
• He fumbled about in his pockets for the ticket. 他（瞎）摸着衣兜找票。

18 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

19 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

20 vowing   

起誓，发誓（vow的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild its collapsed bridge. 布什总统承诺将帮助明尼阿波利斯重建坍塌的大桥。
• President Bush is vowing to help Minneapolis rebuild this collapse bridge. 布什总统发誓要帮助明尼阿波利斯重建起这座坍塌的桥梁。

21 affix   

n.附件，附录 vt.附贴，盖(章)，签署

参考例句：

• Please affix your signature to the document. 请你在这个文件上签字。
• Complete the form and affix four tokens to its back. 填完该表，在背面贴上4张凭券。

22 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

23 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

24 ascertain   

vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清

参考例句：

• It's difficult to ascertain the coal deposits.煤储量很难探明。
• We must ascertain the responsibility in light of different situtations.我们必须根据不同情况判定责任。

25 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

26 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

27 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。

28 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。