China: 56 killed in three major road collisions on the last day of a week-long holiday.

At least 56 people have been killed in three major road collisions in China on the last day of a week-long holiday, including 35 mainly young people travelling on a bus.

The official Xinhua News Agency said the speeding bus hit a car on an expressway in northern China and rolled over throwing passengers onto the road and injuring 18 others. The bus crash happened on Friday afternoon in the port city of Tianjin. The students travelling on the bus in the port city of Tianjin on Friday were returning to school when the crash occured.

In eastern Anhui province, at least 10 people died and 19 were injured and the driver is in coma after a 24-vehicle pileup on an expressway as foggy weather reduced visibility, the Beijing News daily said.

Eleven people in a van were killed when a truck crashed into the vehicle in central Henan province, the newspaper said.

All three collisions occured on the last day of a week-long national holiday.

Friday was the end of a week-long holiday marking China’s National Day.

Serious traffic accidents are common in China due to often overloaded vehicles and poorly trained drivers who often ignore traffic laws.

Road crashes in China kill an estimated 100,000 and injure nearly half a million every year according to the UN’s world health body, WHO.