Eight people were killed in a pileup in the section of the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway in Guangdong Province, south China, Tuesday. Six automobiles caught fire and totally burned out, local police said.

The tragedy took place at about 2:40 AM Tuesday when an over-loaded heavy-duty truck, running at an excessive speed and due to brake failure, rammed into a passenger bus in front of it, causing 11 automobiles piling up one after another.

Local police said that over loading and fast speed have been the major causes of accidents in this section of expressway in recent days.

(Xinhua News Agency February 16, 2005)