Cold spell in China kills 12

BEIJING, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- At least 12 deaths and thousands of injuries are being blamed on a cold spell hitting half of China.

A bus carrying 41 people overturned on a slippery freeway in east China's Jiangxi Province early Sunday, leaving five dead at the scene and injuring 10 others, Xinhua reported.

In Guizhou Province in the southwest, a hospital in Guiyang has received at least 1,500 patients in the last five days, most suffering fractures after falling on slippery roads.

Five have died in Guizhou because of the weather and 1,631 homes have collapsed, Xinhua reported.

In Hunan Province, one of the worst hit areas, seven people have died and snow is affecting the lives of 25.22 million people in 14 cities and 112 counties across the central China province.

Massive train delays on the trunk rail link between Beijing and Guangzhou Saturday left up to 30,000 travels stranded Sunday.