Crane crash girl stable after brain surgery

A 12-year-old girl who suffered severe head injuries when a mobile crane arm smashed into the bus in which she was travelling on Friday afternoon in Pudong, is stable following surgery, doctors said yesterday.

However, it will be another three to five days before staff will have a more detailed picture of how she's recovering, said a spokesperson for the Shanghai Children's Medical Center.

The crane truck collided with a city bus at about 2:40pm at the intersection of Yingchun Road and Fangdian Road. The crane arm smashed into windows at the back of the bus, injuring four passengers and sending the vehicle skewing to one side from the impact.

A seriously injured mother and daughter had to be cut free from the wreckage, while two elderly passengers suffered slight injuries.

All are now described as being in a stable condition.

The 12-year-old girl underwent surgery on a fractured skull at around 7pm on Friday. Doctors said she had been conscious on arrival, but had suffered severe fractures leaving her brain exposed.

During the three and a half hours operation, five pieces of her skull, an area of almost 10 centimeters were repaired, and surgery undertaken on her brain, the hospital said.

The girl also had stitches in her right arm, chest and back, which were cut by flying glass from the window.

Song Yunhai, a physician with the hospital's neurosurgery department, said the girl was treated in the intensive care unit, and doctors took every effort to avoid her being left with brain damage.

The 40-year-old mother suffered leg injuries and may be left permanently disabled, Renji Hospital's Pudong branch said.

She was carried out before her daughter but refused to move, pleading with firefighters to save the girl.

The crane truck diver was unhurt in the accident.

A witness said the truck was driving fast, trying to cross the road when the traffic light was about to turn red. The truck then collided with the bus, which was making a left turn.

It took an hour and a half before the two vehicles could be separated afterward, police said.

The road was wet from rain, but it was not known if that was a factor in the collision. Police investigations are continuing.