2018 Chongqing bus crash

On 28 October 2018 at 10:02 AM, a bus plunged 50 metres (164 ft) off the Second Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge into the Yangtze River in Wanzhou District, Chongqing, China. At least thirteen people died and two are missing.[2] Since 15 people were onboard at the time of the crash, it is believed that there were no survivors.

2018 Chongqing bus crash
Location of the accident
The location in Chongqing where the accident occurred
Details
Date28 October 2018
10:02 AM China Standard Time (UTC+8)
LocationSecond Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge, Wanzhou District, Chongqing, China
CountryChina
LineNo. 22 Wanzhou Public Bus
Incident typePlunge from bridge
CauseDriver distracted by altercation with passenger
Statistics
Passengers15, including the driver[1]
Deaths13 deaths, 2 missing[1]
Injured1 (in another car)
External video
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiJK1aDWmfQ, Police: Chongqing Bus Tragedy Caused by Fight Between Driver and Passenger - Footage of Attack and Accident
A photo taken in 2012 shows the Second Wanzhou Yangtze River Bridge, where the bus crash occurred.

Crash

At approximately 10:02 AM, the bus, traveling at 51 km/h, turned into the opposite lane and smashed through the safety barriers on the side of the bridge before plunging into the river. Initial reports indicated that the bus had swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle; however, footage recovered from the bus shows that a female passenger had attacked the driver, who retaliated.[2] Local police have said the fight was the cause of the crash. Police said in a statement that the pair began arguing when the driver refused to let her off the bus after she missed her stop. The footage shows the pair gesturing at each other before the woman hits the driver in the face with her mobile phone.[1][3]

Chinese authorities were able to eventually determine what happened based on the vehicle's black-box recording, witness accounts and other surveillance videos along the bus route.[4][5][6][7]

Recovery

Divers recovered 13 bodies following a large rescue operation using a floating crane to recover the wreckage. Two people remain missing.[8]

Zhao Hu, a lawyer, told Chinese state media that the families of the crash victims could seek damages from the relatives of the bus operator and the female passenger who started the fight. The police have said both the passenger and the driver broke laws by endangerment of public safety.[9] Zheng Chuankai, a lawyer with Anli Partners in Beijing, said the incident underscored the need to maintain strict laws to punish those who endanger public safety. “This case is very typical and very vicious,” he said.[10]

See also

References
  1. mmm, ed. (2018-11-01). "13 bodies retrieved after bus plunges into river in Chongqing". Xinhuanet. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  2. Zhang, Phoebe (November 5, 2018). "Fresh attacks on Chinese bus drivers trigger bout of soul-searching". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  3. Liangyu, ed. (2018-10-28). "Bus blamed for fatal crash in Chongqing". Xinhuanet. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  4. "Chongqing bus plunge caused by fight between driver and passenger". BBC News. 2018-11-02. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  5. Alice Yan (2018-11-02). "Watch: how an angry passenger caused a bus crash in China". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  6. Liang Chenyu (2018-11-02). David Paulk (ed.). "Passenger-Driver Fight Caused Chongqing Bus Accident, Police Say". Sixth Tone. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  7. "Bus plunges into Chinese river after fight between driver and passenger". The Guardian. 2018-11-02. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  8. Peter Stubley (2018-11-02). "Bus plunged off bridge in China after passenger fought with driver over missed stop, police say". The Independent. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  9. Yan, Sophia (2018-11-02). "Chinese bus drove off bridge and sank after passenger attacked driver, video shows". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  10. Javier C. Hernández; Albee Zhang (2018-11-02). "Fury Erupts in China as Video Shows Fight Led to Fatal Bus Crash". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-11-03. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.