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Armored truck fire kills five bank staff members in China

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-04 15:56

A bank's armored truck veered off a road into a roadside ditch and caught fire, killing five bank staff members aboard the vehicle in central China's Henan Province, local police said Monday.

The accident took place near the Kafang Village in the Xichuan County at about 4 p.m. Saturday, said Chang Jianhui, director of the Xichuan County Public Security Bureau.

Local villagers had attempted to save the people inside the armored truck, but the specially-designed vehicle was too tight to be cut and opened, Chang said.

The armored truck was owned by the Xichuan outlet of the Agriculture Bank of China, but it was not used to transport cash at the time of the accident. The five bank staff members aboard the vehicle, led by a deputy bank head, were found to be returning home from a local scenic spot, Chang said.

An initial investigation indicated that speeding was to blame for the accident, he said.

"But because all the victims have been carbonized after the fire burnt them to death, we cannot conclude whether the driver was drunken driving at the time," he said.

It was still not known how the fire started. Local police are investigating the accident, he added.