A police notice reporting the bus overturn accident in Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture,Southwest China's Guizhou Province published on Sunday. Photo: from web

 
Authorities in Southwest China's Guizhou Province urged an investigation team to be set up immediately to identify the cause of the accident and pursue legal responsibilities after a bus carrying COVID-related people to a quarantine site flipped over in the early hours of Sunday, killing 27 people and leaving another 20 injured. 

A review of the transfer of all personnel related to quarantine and the hidden dangers of traffic safety must be undertaken to prevent such a tragedy from occurring again, authorities said.

At about 2:40 am on Sunday, the incident was reported to relevant departments, which immediately dispatched rescue forces to the site on a highway section from Sandu to Libo in Qiannan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou. As of 5 pm the same day, 27 people had been found dead. Another 20 were injured, and they were sent to hospitals for treatment.

The involved vehicle was transferring epidemic-related personnel to a quarantine site. Apart from a driver and a staff member, all the other 45 people were local residents. They set off at 12:10 am, Lin Gang, Deputy Mayor of Guiyang, capital of Guizhou Province, said at a press conference on Sunday.

The involved vehicle was transferring epidemic-related personnel to a quarantine site, the Guizhou Daily reported later on Sunday. 

As of press time, on-site rescue had basically been completed, and the treatment of the injured and rehabilitation of the victim  were being organized. 

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Guizhou Party chief Shen Yiqin and Governor Li Bingjun have arrived in Qiannan to instruct rescue work, vowing that no efforts will be spared in saving lives, while expressing their deepest condolences to those who lost their lives.

Lin bowed down solemnly in front of the cameras at the press briefing, apologizing to all for the great losses of people's lives caused by the accident. 

Following works will be focused first on making every effort to treat the injured after integrating high-quality medical resources, Lin said, as well as speeding up identity verification of the victims, while taking good caring of families of the deceased. Authorities will also carry out thorough investigation into the cause of the accident, and seriously pursue legal responsibilities for relevant parties.

On Saturday evening prior to the incident, Hu Zhongxiong, Municipal Party chief of Guizhou's capital city of Guiyang, said that quarantine transfer is an important link in epidemic prevention and control, and centralized quarantine is particularly crucial in cutting off transmission chains. Meanwhile, relevant departments must realize the grave epidemic prevention situation and reflect on mistakes during the process, and take resolute measures to correct them, local media reported on Sunday.

Responsibilities of all relevant parties must be specified, Hu added, and accountability for the poor performance of duties must be seriously pursued.

What's more, quarantine works should be optimized and coordinated well with relevant departments, so that quarantine sites are suitably chosen. Relevant departments should also work on improving the conditions in these sites as well as the services during quarantine transfer and other works.

Global Times