Shanghai Daily news

Two passengers died and more than 20 others were injured after a bus overturned on the Shanghai A9 Huqingping Highway, police said yesterday.

Police said the vehicle was a company's shuttle bus traveling north from the Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, where the firm is located, on Tuesday night.

The accident, about 6:30pm, happened because the highway was slippery after being frozen, they said.

According to witnesses, a car travelling in front of the bus suddenly began to skid.

The bus driver said he wanted to avoid hitting the car, so he took evasive action.

As he turned his steering wheel, he also lost control of his vehicle and the bus slid on the ice, then overturned in the middle of the road.

Although other cars and buses on the highway began to slow down immediately to avoid the overturned bus, at least four other vehicles were involved in rear-end accidents, police said.

The dead men were said to be passengers on the bus, but officials did not release further details of their identities.

Police helped the injured people, including the bus driver, and took them to the Qingpu Central Hospital.

Doctors at the hospital said three people were seriously hurt in the accident but their injuries were not considered life threatening.

Injuries suffered by the other passengers ranged from broken bones to bruises.