安徽宿州特大交通事故，23人死亡

据警方所述，周四早上发生的公共汽车与运沙卡车迎面相撞事故中死亡人数已上升到24人。

当地交警表示事故于早上6：30左右发生在靠近宿州王寨镇路段。从失事车辆中救出的三名受伤乘客已紧急送往附近医院。

The death toll from a head-on collision between a bus and a sand-hauling truck in central China's Anhui province on Thursday morning has risen to 24, according to police.

The crash occurred at about 6:30 am on a section of a road near Wangzhai township in the city of Suzhou, local traffic police said.

Three injured passengers have been rushed to a nearby hospital after being rescued from the wreckage of the badly smashed-up vehicles.

Zhao Qiang, chief of Anhui's traffic police department, said rescue attempts already completed as of 11 am.

Authorities have not yet disclosed the number of passengers on board the vehicles at the time of the crash, and a probe into the cause of the accident is under way.

Traffic accidents on China's roads result in about 70,000 deaths and 300,000 injuries each year, according to the Ministry of Public Security. Speeding, fatigue, drunk-driving and poor road conditions are usually blamed.