Local govt didn't release death toll of Henan crash

The local government is suspected of not disclosing the full death toll stemming from a traffic accident in Henan province, according to a report in the Beijing News.

The accident happened on the morning of Feb 1 when a truck loaded with 9 tons of fireworks exploded and blasted off part of a 30-meter-high bridge on a highway in Sanmenxia city.

The paper said that the truck driver's name was not on the list of the 10 dead people.

The local government said that 10 people died and 11 were injured after the explosion. The list with the names of the deceased was released on Feb 4 by the local government.

However, Shi Yanfei, the driver of the truck loaded with fireworks, who is believed to have died since the truck was completely destroyed, was not included in the list, the paper said.

The newspaper added that it couldn't contact the driver's family to verify whether he was alive or not.

The Sanmenxia city government had not responded to the allegations as of Wednesday morning.