In China, at least 26 people were killed today in two traffic collisions in the northeast of the country. According to local authorities, an unspecified number of people were injured in the accidents. A spokesman for the Changchun expressway traffic police, Su Limin said a truck and a long-distance bus collided near Changchun, the capital of Jilin Province, this afternoon triggering a fire which left at least 16 people dead. In another accident, a truck loaded with sand collided with a mini-bus on an expressway near Jiamusi City in Heilongjiang Province, killing 10 people and injuring one. Nine people aboard the mini-bus died instantly and another died after receiving emergency treatment.