Li Xinming, a minibus driver responsible for a road accident that claimed 21 lives on June 16 in east China's Jiangxi province, was given a jail term of five years on Wednesday.

The minibus No. C07242, with Li as the driver, fell into the Xiannu (Fairy) Lake in Jiangxi's Xinyu city while attempting to shun another speeding vehicle.

Out of the 26 passengers aboard, all from Pingxiang county in Jiangxi on a return trip from a pilgrimage to an adjacent temple in Xinyu city, 21 drowned and eight others, including driver Li, had a narrow escape.

According to a verdict of the court in Fenyi county, the tragedy was caused by overloading of the mini-bus and careless driving of the driver.

The owner of the minibus who employed Li had to pay a lump sum of 2.31 million yuan (154,000 US dollars) for tragedy victims, with 110,000 yuan (some 13,300 dollars) for each of those killed.

Source: Xinhua