After a truck ran amok and hit a bus going in the same direction near highway toll gate.

At least five persons were killed and 11 other injured in a pile-up involving two trucks and a mini bus in north China’s Shanxi Province.

The accident happened on Thursday near a highway toll gate in the city of Linfen, as a truck ran out of control and hit a bus going in the same direction.

The truck, carrying 23 people, then crashed into another truck in front, said a spokesman with the local government.

Three people were killed on the spot and another two succumbed to their injuries, the spokesman said.

Injuries of another two are serious but not life-threatening, state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.

Probe reveals braking malfunctions

Initial investigations showed the accident was caused by braking malfunctions of the first truck, the report said.

Around 2,00,000 people die on Chinese roads each year, the World Health Organisation had said. In a bid to improve road safety, the government recently cracked down on the overloading of trucks.