On Saturday, April 18, a bus carrying Chinese passengers overturned in the Far East region of Russia, resulting in 2 deaths and at least ten injuries.
According to the Chinese Consulate General in Irkutsk, this tour bus, carrying over forty Chinese citizens, overturned in the Zabaykalsky Krai region of Russia, causing two fatalities and at least 10 injuries.
The bus was traveling from Manzhouli, China, to the Russian city of Chita when it flipped on a road in the Zabaykalsky Krai region.
According to reports from the Russian emergency services department, the accident led to 2 deaths, with one person dying at the scene and another succumbing to injuries after being taken to the hospital. At least 10 passengers were injured.
The bus involved in the accident was operated by the Manzhouli Shunda Automobile Transportation Co., Ltd., a company specializing in irregular international passenger transport from Manzhouli.
Further confirmation from Hong Kong 01 revealed that the bus departed on Saturday with 44 Chinese citizens on board. As it was en route to the Zabaykalsky Krai region, one passenger got off, leaving 43 passengers continuing towards Borzya, Russia. The rollover occurred around 1:30 pm local time at the 63rd kilometer of the “Zabaykalsk-Borzja” road in Russia.
Sources cited by mainland Chinese media “Jiemu News” indicated that the passengers mainly consisted of Chinese laborers. The buses from Manzhouli to Chita usually operated on a weekly schedule departing on Mondays and returning on Wednesdays, but this particular departure on a Saturday was a chartered service.
Quoting information from the mainland Chinese news site “Red Star News,” preliminary investigations suggest that the accident may have been caused by the driver dozing off at the wheel, leading to the loss of control of the vehicle.
In a separate report by “Lianhe Zaobao,” in January of this year, there was another serious traffic accident involving a Chinese bus in the Far East region of Russia. During that incident, the bus collided with a heavy truck, resulting in 3 deaths and 9 injuries.