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Fog forces closure of expressways in eastern China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-10-18 16:15

SHENYANG/JINAN - Numerous expressways in eastern and northeastern China were closed on Saturday morning shrouded in fog.

The foggy weather began to hit the northeastern Liaoning Province on Wednesday and continued through Saturday with visibility of 200 to 500 meters in some areas.

Stretches of five expressways in the province were shut down early on Saturday morning, said the provincial expressway administration authorities.

The foggy weather, usually in the morning hours, would continue in the coming three days, said the meteorological observatory of the provincial capital Shenyang.

The fog also caused a seven-hour closure of a Beijing-Harbin expressway section early on Saturday. The road reopened at 8 a.m. On Tuesday, four people died in a pileup of four trucks in the same stretch due to heavy fog.

At least four major expressways in eastern Shandong Province were also closed on Saturday morning. The coastal cities of Rizhao, Qingdao and Yantai had a visibility of less than 1,000 meters.

Early on Friday, eight people were injured after a pileup of 11 cars and trucks amid thick fog on an expressway in the east of the province. The eight were in no danger, hospital sources said.

Airports in Qingdao and the provincial capital Ji'nan were not affected.

The foggy weather would continue the whole day, according to the provincial meteorological observatory.

Foggy weather is common in the autumn-winter period in eastern and northern China.