Police and rescuers arrive at the site of the fatal crash in Yixing, East China's Jiangsu Province on Saturday. The accident left 36 people dead and 36 injured. Photo: screenshot from Sina Weibo

A tragic bus crash on Saturday in Yixing, a county-level city in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu Province that left 36 people dead and 36 injured caused anguish across the nation as Chinese people are gearing up to celebrate the Chinese National Day on October 1. 

According to local police, of the injured, nine are in serious condition after the fatal accident that happened along China's north-south G25 expressway at approximately 7 am on Saturday. 

As per the official police description released on Sunday on its official Sina Weibo account, a bus with 69 passengers suffered a puncture, causing it to swerve into the central divider and into the opposite lane, leading to a collision with an incoming semi-trailer which had three people on board. Police have not released the status of the people on the truck.

Following a rescue operation which took more than eight hours, the injured victims have been sent to hospitals in Yixing for treatment. Medical experts have been dispatched to provide treatment, the police said. 

A joint preliminary working group comprising of personnel from the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Transport arrived in Yixing on Saturday to assist with the investigation. 

Traffic on the expressway has resumed.  

Chinese internet also users poured in their condolences online to the victims and bereaved families. 

"I hoped the tragedy was not real, especially thinking about their families that were waiting for a reunion during the holiday," said a Weibo user. 

Global Times