On the evening of January 21st, a multiple-vehicle chain collision occurred in the section of the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway within Pingxiang, Jiangxi, resulting in at least one fatality and 15 injuries.
In recent days, mainland China has been experiencing a continuous drop in temperature, with some areas even seeing snowfall, leading to icy road conditions in many places. A video circulating online shows multiple vehicles colliding due to slippery roads under the cover of night. Subsequent vehicles were unable to brake in time, causing them to collide with the vehicles involved in the initial accident. One bus crashed into the guardrail of a bridge, causing one person to be knocked to the ground.
On January 22nd, the Jiangxi expressway traffic police issued a report stating that around 7:00 p.m. on the 21st, a traffic accident occurred at the 970km mark on the Shanghai-Kunming Expressway in the direction of Hunan (within Pingxiang city limits) due to icy road conditions caused by freezing rain and snow, resulting in “1 fatality and 4 injuries.”
However, according to a reporter from the Huashang Newspaper who obtained information from a local tertiary hospital, a total of 15 injured individuals were taken to the hospital following the accident. Some have been admitted for treatment, while others are being kept under observation.