Freeway accident leaves 15 dead, 25 injured

CHANGSHA, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Fifteen people were killed and 25 injured in a freeway accident in Hunan Province, central China, on Monday.

The accident happened at around 7:00 p.m. at Chenzhou city on the north-south freeway connecting Beijing and Zhuhai city in south China's Guangdong Province, according to traffic police.

A bus heading north ran into the rear of a tanker, causing a fire and ensuing explosion which ignited three other motor vehicles already tangled in a previous road accident, said a police spokesperson.

The traffic on the Beijing-Zhuhai freeway was stopped temporarily because of the accident.

No other details were available.

All the injured are being treated in hospital.