16 killed in E China road accident

Sixteen people were killed and 12 others injured when a truck overturned in east China's Jiangxi Province on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The accident occurred on a highway in Tiantuo Village, Nanfeng County, around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday, when the truck loaded with pears and 28 people, including the driver and 24 women, overturned, according to the Nanfeng County government.

The victims and injured people are pickers from the county's Taihe Township. Chen Junming, a farmer also from Taihe Township, hired them for temporary work in neighboring Fujian Province. The accident occurred as they were on their way home from Fujian.

Fifteen people were killed on the spot, and one died after medical treatments failed.

Two people sustained minor injuries, while the other ten people, including the driver, are in stable condition and receiving medical treatment at a local hospital.

Chen has been taken into police custody. Further investigation into the cause of the accident is under way.