19 dead in 2 traffic accidents in China

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BEIJING, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- At least 19 people died in two separate road accidents in China Sunday at the end of a week-long national holiday, police said.

One accident involved the collision of two buses and a car on an expressway in eastern Shandong province in which 14 passengers died, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Police said one bus jumped the median after colliding with the car near Zibo city and struck the second bus traveling in the opposite lane.

Police said six people died at the scene and another eight in a hospital. Six others injured in the collision were hospitalized, receiving treatment, the news agency said.

The other accident occurred in Jiangxi province, also in eastern China, involving a truck and a commercial vehicle on an expressway, in which five people died and two others were injured. Police said four the dead were from Hong Kong.

This year's holiday attracted a record 80 million-plus travelers on the roads each day as people took advantage of the government's toll-free policy for small passenger cars, Xinhua said.