NANCHANG, May 1-- Two road accidents claimed 14 lives on the same highway in east China's Jiangxi Province on Wednesday and Friday as China braced for a travel rush around the May Day holiday.

A truck crashed into a bus at about 3 a.m. Friday on the Xiamen-Chengdu Highway near Ganzhou City, killing eight people and injuring 26 others, firefighters at the site told Xinhua.

Among the injured, six are in serious condition, they said.

On Wednesday afternoon, a five-vehicle pile-up, also on the Jiangxi section of the highway, left six people dead and another four seriously injured.

Fatigued drivers and speeding are common causes of highway accidents in China, which peak during travel rush periods around major holidays. Friday marks the first day of the three-day Labor Day holiday.