BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- Chinese highways carried 213 million passengers from Tuesday to Friday, the first four days of weeklong May Day holiday, the Ministry of Communications said on Friday.

    The travel peak occurred on Thursday, with the number of passengers totaling 54.47 million, up nine percent over the same day of last year.

    A total of 700,000 large and medium-sized coaches were sent for transit services nationwide over the four days, more than 60,000 of which were for tourism purposes, said the ministry.

    The four days also witnessed some serious road accidents.

    On Friday, 14 people died and another 45 were injured after an out-of-control truck rushed into a group of roadside people waiting for bus in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

    On Thursday morning, four people were killed and four others were injured after a truck collided with a taxi in east China's Zhejiang Province.