Six killed, 43 injured in Shanghai bus wreck

SHANGHAI, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- A tour bus carrying 49 people overturned in Shanghai Monday morning, killing six and injuring 43 others, local authorities said.

The vehicle rolled over at around 10:08 a.m. at the intersection of Donghai Avenue and Nengyuan Road near the Yangshan Deep-water Port on the island of Yangshan, which connects Shanghai's business and financial center with a 32-km-long sea bridge, the Shanghai municipal government said in a statement.

Xinhua correspondents saw the mangled bus lying on the roadside surrounded by broken glass at the scene of the accident.

The passengers on the 55-seat bus were heading toward Shengsi County, a cluster of islands administered by neighboring Zhejiang Province, it said.

Twenty-four-year-old Bao Yanglong, a survivor of the bus accident, told Xinhua that the bus overturned suddenly just after it drove off Donghai Bridge.

When he regained consciousness, some passengers had already opened sunroofs and stretched out their hands to help those with light injuries escape the bus.

After Bao was rescued by other passengers, he called police and the hospital for help. Then Bao and other passengers returned to the bus and took off their coats to stop others from bleeding and keep them warm. Bao was grieving, as one of his friends died in the accident.

Less than half an hour after the bus wreck, injured passengers were sent to nearby hospitals. Shanghai police also dispatched three helicopters to transport passengers.

The No. 6 People's Hospital has received 27 passengers. Among them, 12 are seriously injured and receiving emergency treatment, said Fan Cunyi, deputy head of the hospital.

The overturned bus is owned by Xinlianyi Travel Transportation Company, a subsidiary of Shanghai Bashi Company. It is reported that a coach from the same company overturned when travelling to Jiangxi Province in 2011, killing one and injuring another two.

Local police continue to investigate.