Fires kill 43 in China during Spring Festival

A total of 17,760 fires broke out during China's Spring Festival holiday, leaving 43 people dead and 17 injured, the fire department of the Ministry of Public Security said Thursday. Fires broke out between Jan. 30 and Thursday noon have caused direct property losses of over 51 million yuan (8.4 million U.S. dollars), the department said in a statement. Also on Thursday, the police forces on duty were beefed up to deal with possible traffic problems caused by the busy holiday transportation combined with bad weather. Traffic management authorities in eight Chinese provincial-level regions affected by heavy rain and snow, such as Shandong and Anhui, have launched emergency response programs to ensure traffic order, according to a statement issued by the traffic department of the ministry. China's seven-day Spring Festival holiday ends on Thursday and recent snowstorms in many regions that caused closing of roads and delays of trains have created chaos for travelers returning to work after family reunions. According to the ministry's instructions, more police forces have been sent to patrol the roads, guide the traffic, deal with accidents and carry out rescue operations. The ministry also warned vehicle drivers to reduce their speed and drive carefully. During the Spring Festival period, there are usually more accidents that are linked to vehicle overload, drunk driving, unlicensed driving and inexperienced driving in bad weathers, the statement said. As of Thursday evening, most of the expressways have been reopened, according to a later statement. However, several icy sections of the expressways in Shandong and Shanxi remain closed for safety concerns.