Death toll rises to 8 as bus plunges from bridge

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-07-14 06:36

YICHANG -- Another three bodies were pulled out of a river in central Hubei Province on Sunday, bringing the death toll in Saturday's tour bus accident to eight.

Rescuers were still searching the last missing passenger.

The bus, registered as D13806, with 20 on board, was heading for the city seat of Yichang when it struck a railing of a bridge over the Huangbo River, a tributary of the Yangtze River, at about 1:40 p.m. Saturday and plunged into the water, which is about 10 meters deep.

The driver was among the fatalities.

Eleven people, including eight who were hurled out of the bus, were now in stable conditions.

The passengers were technical staff from an oil extraction factory in the northeastern Liaoning Province. They came to the neighboring Jingzhou City for a training course at the Yangtze University.

Investigation into the cause of the accident continues.