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| Fireworks Truck Explodes on Bridge in China | Fireworks Truck Explodes on Bridge in China |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| HONG KONG - A truck laden with fireworks exploded on a bridge in central China on Friday, sending out a blast that threw vehicles some 30 yards to the ground below, with initial news reports suggesting that at least four people but perhaps many more had died. | HONG KONG - A truck laden with fireworks exploded on a bridge in central China on Friday, sending out a blast that threw vehicles some 30 yards to the ground below, with initial news reports suggesting that at least four people but perhaps many more had died. |
| The truck was on an expressway near Sanmenxia in Henan Province in morning fog when it exploded, wiping out a length of the Yichang Bridge, Chinese radio news reported. That report and others said that at least 26 people were killed, but officials later said that number was too high. Other Chinese news outlets said officials were still trying to assess the destruction, and the official Xinhua news agency said the initial toll was 4 dead. | |
| Letting off fireworks is a tradition of China’s traditional Spring Festival celebrations that begin from Feb. 9, and the explosion was a reminder of the intense pressures brought by the vast crush of people and goods on the move before the vacation. | Letting off fireworks is a tradition of China’s traditional Spring Festival celebrations that begin from Feb. 9, and the explosion was a reminder of the intense pressures brought by the vast crush of people and goods on the move before the vacation. |
| Pictures on Chinese television and news websites showed shattered remains of trucks that plunged to earth, and one truck with its end hanging off the side of the bridge. The People’s Daily website said about 10 trucks plunged to the ground, and rescuers were searching for survivors amid the jumble of wreckage. | Pictures on Chinese television and news websites showed shattered remains of trucks that plunged to earth, and one truck with its end hanging off the side of the bridge. The People’s Daily website said about 10 trucks plunged to the ground, and rescuers were searching for survivors amid the jumble of wreckage. |
| “The foggy weather has made rescue efforts more difficult,” reported Xinhua. | “The foggy weather has made rescue efforts more difficult,” reported Xinhua. |