Death toll for SW China road accident rises to 14

KUNMING - The death toll for an expressway accident in Southwest China's Yunnan province on Monday afternoon has risen to 14, after one person died in the hospital on Tuesday, local authorities said.

The accident happened at 4:25 pm on a section of the Dali-Baoshan Expressway in Laoying township in the city of Baoshan, when a passenger bus carrying 29 people plunged into a ravine beside the expressway, according to the city's publicity office.

Thirteen people died at the scene. Others were injured and rushed to local hospitals, with two in critical condition, the sources said on Monday.

One of the critically injured people died in the hospital on Tuesday, according to local authorities.

The passengers, mostly residents from a village in Nanhua county, Chuxiong Yi autonomous prefecture, were on a tourism journey.

An initial investigation showed that the driver was responsible for the accident, as he was operating the vehicle improperly in heavy rain, the Baoshan Municipal Public Security Bureau said.

Further investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.