A truck hit 31 cars and killed at least 15 people after the driver lost control Saturday night near an expressway toll booth in northwestern China, Chinese authorities said.

More than 40 other people were injured in the accident in the city of Lanzhou.

Local police, in a statement released Sunday, faulted the truck driver, saying he lost control of his vehicle after continuously braking on a lengthy downslope leading to the toll gates.

The driver, who had never driven on this expressway before, panicked and did not steer away from traffic when his brake failed, according to the authorities.

In another road accident, police in northwestern China said a bus in the city of Hanzhong, Shaanxi province, lost control Saturday afternoon, swerving into traffic and killing at least two people. Another five people were injured.

Police detained the bus driver and were investigating the case.

In a non-road accident, authorities in central China said a factory that makes heat-insulation material exploded Saturday morning in Lankao county, Henan province, due to a propane leak. Eight people were killed and one was injured, authorities said.

The accidents follow a dramatic bus crash on October 28 in southwestern China that killed 15 people.

Chinese authorities said the bus plunged off a bridge in the city of Chongqing and landed in the Yangtze River in waters more than 70 meters (230 feet) deep.

Video from an on-board camera showed a woman attacking the driver after she missed her stop, causing him to lose control of the vehicle. (CNN)