15 die in Heilongjiang traffic accident

Fifteen people died and one was injured in a motor vehicle accident in Boli county, Heilongjiang province, on Saturday morning, the county government said.

The accident happened around 4 am on a section of the G229 national highway, Wang Huafeng, the deputy head of the county, said at a news conference on Saturday night.

A heavy truck running from west to east ran into the back of a tractor towing a trailer, killing the driver of the truck and 14 people on the tractor and trailer instantly.

The injured person was sent to Qitaihe People's Hospital for treatment and did not have life-threatening injuries, Wang said.

A working team led by Vice-Minister of Public Security Liu Zhao set off for Boli immediately after the accident to investigate it and carry out subsequent work, the Ministry of Public Security said in a statement released on Saturday.

Local government departments should strengthen screening and rectification of potential traffic safety hazards to effectively reduce traffic accidents and protect people's lives and property, it said.

The 14 people on the tractor and trailer who died were farmers from five nearby villages, including Yongping, Fu'an and Kaohe, Red Star News reported, adding that they were on their way to pick marigolds in Jixinghe village.

"Most of them were women, aged from 50 to 60," a local farmer told Red Star News. "In recent years, more local farmers in the county began to cultivate marigolds to increase their family income."

Lu Hongcai, Party chief of Yongping village, told Red Star News: "Picking work usually starts early in the morning. During the harvest season, more laborers are needed for picking, and everyone can earn around 120 yuan ($18.6) a day."

Lu's wife was one of the tractor passengers who died.

An investigation has been launched into the cause of the accident.

The city of Qitaihe, which administers Boli county, launched a special campaign on Sunday to improve the traffic safety of agricultural vehicles, focusing on problems such as tractors carrying passengers illegally, excessive speed and overloading.