Two traffic accidents occurred in Guizhou and Hebei provinces on Monday claiming a total of 16 lives.

On Monday morning, a pile-up took place in Zhangjiakou, north China's Hebei Province, leaving five dead and 19 injured.

A van heading for Tianjin collided with a mini truck, due to an ineffective brake, near the Pingmen toll station on the city's 242 provincial highway at 8 AM. The collision then triggered a series of accidents on the highway involving 16 other cars, killing two people on the spot.

By time of going to press, three others were reported dead, while the 19 wounded are still in the local hospital.

The driver of the van, Yang Dawei, escaped from the locale after the accident, but is now being detained by police.

In the second accident, a bus fell off a cliff Monday afternoon in the county of Rongjiang, southwest China's Guizhou Province, leaving 11 dead and seven injured, local sources said.

Witnesses reported that the bus, which was heading for the city of Kaili, went over the 250-meter cliff around 5:30 PM.

Further investigations into the two accidents are underway.

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2004)