The death toll in a road accident in central China's Hubei Province has risen to 26 while 31 others were injured after a long-distance coach was hit by a truck and caught fire on Monday morning, local police said.
The accident occurred at about 3:50 a.m. on the Xiantao section of the Suizhou-Yueyang expressway, which links Suizhou in Hubei with Yueyang in adjacent Hunan Province.
A spokesman with the Hubei traffic police headquarters said the bus, bound for Tianmen City from southern Guangdong Province, was hit by the truck from the behind and ran off the road.
The bus then overturned and caught fire, according to the spokesman.
The casualties are from both the bus and the truck. The injured passengers have been sent to nearby hospitals, with three in critical conditions.
Police are investigating the cause of the accident.
