18 dead, 23 injured as coach plunges into ravine in Xinjiang
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At least 18 were confirmed dead and 23 others injured after a coach plunged into a ravine Friday morning in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local rescuers said.
It was previously reported that 20 died in the accident.
The accident occurred at about 10 a.m. when the bus veered off a national highway that links Xinjiang with Tibet in Xinjiang's Kashgar region, official with Xinjiang's emergency rescue team said.
Among the injured passengers, 12 were in serious condition while the other 11 suffered minor wounds, the official said, adding all the seriously injured passengers were rushed to hospitals in Kashgar.
The driver escaped the accident without any injuries, he said.
There were 42 people, including the driver, on the coach when the accident happened. Most of them were heading to Tibet for work.
The coach, with the registration number of Tibet FA2130, was owned by Tibet Antelope Coach Service Company.
National highway 219 traverses through five mountain ranges reaching heights of over 5,000 meters, making it the most dangerous road to Tibet.
Nur Bekri, chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Government who is attending the ongoing parliamentary session in Beijing, ordered the region to make an all-out effort in the rescue.
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