Heavy fog caused a series of road accidents Monday morning which left nine people dead and eight wounded in an eastern suburb of Beijing, local police said.

The five accidents happened within a period of 20 minutes and along a two-km stretch of the city's east sixth ring road.

Police said the first accident happened at 7:12 am, involving three automobiles and three deaths. The second was at 7:15 am, 30 meters away from the first accident, involving two vehicles and one death. The third at 7:23 am, one km away from the second, involved three vehicles and three deaths. The fourth was at 7:25 am, involving two automobiles and one death. And the last, at 7:31 am, involved two vehicles and one death.

The wounded have been sent to the hospital.

Police blamed the accident on the early morning fog that affected drivers' vision.

(Xinhua News Agency September 8, 2003)