China's roads claim 29,866 victims

Source: Xinhua  |   2009-7-21  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

  EMAIL STORY

  PRINTABLE VIEW

  BLOG STORY

  COPY HEADLINE AND URL

  SHARE

A TOTAL of 29,866 people died in traffic accidents on Chinese roads in the first six months this year, a 10.5-percent drop year-on-year, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

A total of 107,193 traffic accidents were reported in the first half, down 18.7 percent, leaving close to 130,000 people injured, a drop of 16.7 percent. Economic losses due to road accidents fell 22.9 percent to 410 million yuan (US$60 million), the ministry said.

But it warned of a possible increase in accidents during the summer holidays.

Increasing demand for electricity in northern parts of China would mean an increase in coal transport while policies encouraging rural people to buy new vehicles could also lead to accident prevention difficulties.

related stories

Police in huge gun haul

CHINESE police have confiscated 19,000 guns and nearly 500 tons of explosives in a crackdown on gun-related crimes over the past four months, the Ministry of Public Security said in Beijing yesterday. More than...

MORE