Soldier dies as quake relief vehicle plummets off cliff

CHENGDU, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A military vehicle carrying 17 soldiers en route to the quake-hit area in southwest China's Sichuan Province plummeted off a cliff around Saturday noon, killing one soldier, military sources said.

The driver of the vehicle lost control on a winding road in Ya'an, Sichuan, at about 12:40 p.m..

Witnesses said the driver may have been trying to evade something before hitting the road edge and losing control.

The vehicle went into a river about 20 meters below the road.

One soldier died, while seven others were injured and have been taken to hospital. The remaining soldiers are safe and unhurt, according to Chengdu Military Area Command (MAC) of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The vehicle and the soldiers belong to the PLA Army's 13th Combined Corps under the Chengdu MAC.

After the 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the province on Saturday morning, more than 6,000 of military rescue personnel rushed to the area.

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