(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-27 16:29

WUHAN -- At least six people were dead and 31 others injured after a bus fell off a mountain in a scenic spot in the central Hubei Province on Saturday afternoon.

The accident occurred at 6:30 pm in the Shuangfeng Mountain in Xiaogan City when the bus, with 35 students and a teacher aboard, was on its way back from the scenic spot to Wuhan, the provincial capital, local police said.

One student died at the scene while another five students died later in hospital.

All the injured were receiving treatment in hospital. Doctors said some of the seriously injured needed to be transferred to a better-equipped hospital in Wuhan by Sunday night.

The passengers were all from the Wuchang Online Education Center affiliated to Wuhan University, police said.

On Saturday more than 70 students from the education center went on an excursion to the Shuangfeng Mountain, about 100 kilometers away from Wuhan, in three rented buses, said Liu Chunjiang, an official of the Wuhan University.

An investigation into the cause of the accident has begun, but on the basis of their initial inspection police said it was probably caused by brake failure.

The busses belong to Tianlong Holiday Travel Agency in Wuhan.