Ye Jianying, 22, a female student from Peking University, was
confirmed to be among the six killed in Sunday's vehicle crash near
a renowned tourist attraction in southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The other five are identified to be Jiang Yonghua, a resident of
Beijing; Xiao Liping and Liang Xiang, both from Shaoguan, Guangdong
Province; and Yang Zhenpeng and Li Zhen, from Dalian, a port city
in northeast China's Liaoning Province, said the Office for Holiday
Affairs of Tibet Autonomous Prefecture of Diqing, Yunnan.
A minibus with 10 people aboard heading to the Shangri-La scenic
district collided head-on with a sedan at a sharp bend on a road in
Shangri-La County of Diqing around 6:30 PM on Sunday, and the
minibus fell off the road linking Shangri-La and Deqin County, two
famous tourist resorts, into a 190-meter deep ravine, killing six
people on the spot.
All the killed, three women and three men, were passengers on
the minibus. The four injured in the accident are: Zhu Liping and
Liu Tian, both students from Tsinghua University in Beijing; Yao
Wanshou, the minibus driver, and Mu Weizhi, the tour guide, both
locals.
In a press release, the Office for Holiday Affairs of Diqing
said there had been difficulties in identifying the dead because
the tour group was loosely formed, and there was an obvious error
in an earlier report saying three college students were killed in
the accident.
An official from the office also said he could not say for
certain there were any newly-wed couples on the ill-fated tour
group.
The injured suffered from fractures and shock due to blood loss,
but doctors said they were out of life danger. The two college
students have been transferred to Guangdong Province for further
medical treatment.
Initial investigations showed the sedan was violating the speed
limit at the time of the accident, said local police.
Further investigations into the cause of the accident are under
way.
(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2006)