In the early morning of 18 September 2022, 27 people were killed and 20 injured in a bus crash in Sandu Shui Autonomous County, Qiannan Prefecture, Guizhou, People's Republic of China (PRC). The bus overturned on a hilly section[2] of the highway that goes from Guiyang to Libo.[3] The bus was transporting 47 people to a quarantine facility.[3]
| 2022 Guizhou bus crash | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 18 September 2022 2:40 a.m.[1] |
| Location | Sandu County, Qiannan, Guizhou, China |
| Coordinates | 25°58′10″N 107°48′35″E / 25.969495°N 107.809649°E |
| Statistics | |
| Vehicles | 1 |
| Passengers | 47 |
| Deaths | 27 |
| Injured | 20 |
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The accident occurred at 2:40 a.m.[4][1] A circulating unverified photo shows a passenger bus towed by a truck, with a completely crumpled top.[1]
Background
editChina is a country with zero-COVID policies, where cities goes into a lockdown after a few positive cases. Local officials are responsible for controlling the virus and keeping outbreaks under control. The COVID-19 data of the day of the crash showed Guizhou had a spike in cases from 154 to 712 new confirmed cases the day before, being almost 70% of new COVID cases in China. It was announced that due to limited capacity in Guiyang, people needed quarantine "need to be transported to sister cities and states".[3]
According to the Specification for road passenger transportation enterprise safety management (Chinese: 《道路旅客运输企业安全管理规范》),[5] passenger buses are not allowed to drive on the highway from 2 a.m. to 5 a.m.[4]
Crash
editThe bus departed from Yunyan District at 12:10 a.m., carrying 47 people, 45 of whom were "related to the COVID-19", plus one driver and one staff.[6][7] When the bus was on the way from Sandu Shui Autonomous County to Libo County, leaving 32 kilometres (20 mi) from the Sandu County at 2:40 a.m., the bus overturned and fell into the roadside deep ditch.[6][7]
Legal
editAs a result of the public anger, it was announced on 20 September that three officials in charge of the Yunyan district were fired by Guiyang.[8][9]
Reactions
editThe accident caused anger by Chinese citizens over the strict COVID policies in China and the lack of transparency from authorities.[3] It also raised commotion that the bus was traveling during the night, while many major roads in the region were closed.[1] A woman who claimed to be the daughter of one of the victims wrote a note on social media saying she could "not accept" her mother's death.[4]
Multiple widely shared blogs about the accident, particularly the critical ones, were deleted from WeChat.[3] One of the most popular comments about the crash at WeChat is: "All of us are on this bus", indicating a form of powerlessness.[3] The accident became on Sunday afternoon a top trending topic at Weibo, but suddenly it disappeared from the top-50 trending topics.[3]
Hu Xijin, the former editor in chief of the Global Times and usually a defender of the zero-COVID policy, doubted why the bus was still on the way after 2 a.m. He questioned on Sina Weibo that "why did Guiyang city have to transport quarantine subjects in a manner that is suspected of serious violations?" and "for such a large-scale, long-distance transport, did it really have to be done so late at night, and was there really no alternative?"[6]
During a press conference, the deputy mayor of Guiyang apologized for the accident, bowed and had a moment of silence.[8]
See also
edit
- Anshun bus crash, a 2020 Guizhou bus crash
- List of traffic collisions (2000–present)
- 2022 COVID-19 protests in China
References
edit- ^ a b c d "27 killed in China's 'deadliest' bus crash this year: Report". hindustantimes.com. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ "27 mensen omgekomen in China door busongeluk op weg naar quarantainecentrum". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Crash victims in southern China were on COVID quarantine bus". Reuters. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ a b c Thomas, Merlyn; Jalil, Zubaidah Abdul (19 September 2022). "China Covid: Quarantine bus crash kills 27 and injures 20". BBC News. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ "交通运输部 公安部 应急部关于印发《道路旅客运输企业安全管理规范》的通知" [Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Emergency Response on the issuance of "Specification for road passenger transportation enterprise safety management"]. www.gov.cn. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
- ^ a b c Dou, Eva (19 September 2022). "Deadly Chinese bus crash stirs fury, grief over 'zero covid' policy". Washington Post. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ a b "贵州贵阳通报三荔高速重大交通事故情况，并向全社会作出诚恳道歉" [Guizhou Guiyang reported about the major traffic accident of San Li Expressway and made a sincere apology to the whole society]. Beijing News (in Simplified Chinese). CCTV News. 18 September 2022. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
- ^ a b "China quarantine bus crashes, killing dozens and prompting fresh outcry over draconian "zero COVID" policy". CBC. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Wu, Huizhong (20 September 2022). "China Quarantine Bus Crash Prompts Outcry Over 'Zero COVID'". Time. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.