9 killed in southwest China bus accident

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-11-18 22:29

GUIYANG: Nine people were killed and more than 30 were injured when a bus crashed through a guard rail and rolled over after plunging down a 30-meter slope in southwest China's Guizhou Province Wednesday.

The accident took place at about 5:15 a.m. on a highway in high mountains in Dafang County, a local traffic police spokesman said.

The injured, including six people who were seriously hurt, were taken to hospital, he said. The bus driver was among the injured.

Of the six seriously injured, three have been out of danger, doctors said, adding the remaining three were undergoing operations.

The 49-seat bus with exactly 49 people aboard was traveling from Shanghai to Bijie Prefecture, which administers Dafang County.

Most passengers were migrant workers returning from the eastern booming provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

Driver Ma Huanxun, 50, blamed icy road for the accident.

Police and work safety authorities are investigating the cause of the accident.