5 dead, 2 injured in SW China tricycle accident

KUNMING - Five people died and another two were injured when a motorized tricycle plunged into a valley on Friday evening in Southwest China's Yunnan province, authorities said Saturday.

The accident happened around 7 pm when the motorized tricycle carrying seven people, including the driver, fell off Liangshan Road in Yuanmou county, Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture, into a 50-meter-deep valley, said a spokesman with the prefecture.

The injured were sent to hospital, and their injuries were not life threatening, said the spokesman.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

As a farming vehicle, the motorized tricycle is not allowed to carry passengers in China. But in remote rural areas, farming vehicles are often used for passenger transport.