27 killed in China as bus crashes on the way to Covid quarantine

Twenty-seven people were killed when a bus in southwest China crashed while transporting them to a Covid-19 quarantine facility, local authorities said.

HONG KONG — At least 27 people were killed when a bus in southwest China crashed as it was taking them to a Covid-19 quarantine facility, local authorities said, drawing outrage from a public growing weary with the country’s strict “zero-Covid” policies.

The bus overturned on an expressway around 2:40 a.m. Sunday, 2½ hours after it left Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province, for a quarantine hotel in a different part of the province, the state broadcaster CCTV reported, citing a news conference by Lin Gang, Guiyang’s deputy mayor.

Those on board were a driver, a staff member and 45 residents of Guiyang’s Yunyan District, he said. In addition to the 27 people who were killed, 20 others were treated for injuries at a nearby hospital.

Lin said officials were “extremely remorseful” and that the cause was under investigation. He also said the procedures for Covid-related transportation and isolation would be examined.

Three officials in Yunyan District, where the bus originated, have been suspended pending an investigation. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-covid-bus-crash-rcna48278

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