Eight Britons were injured in a highway accident on Monday in Zhouzhi County, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the local foreign affairs office said on Tuesday.

 

Except for one person who needed surgery for hemopneumothorax, an accumulation of air and blood in the thorax, the other seven suffered only slight injuries.

 

Fifteen British environmental volunteers took a locally registered tour bus on Monday to the giant panda nature reserve at Foping, Shaanxi.

 

The accident took place on their way back. The bus reportedly veered out of control when the driver tried to avoid hitting a motorbike near the entrance of Loutai Cement Company inside Zhouzhi County. The bus ran off the road and overturned.

 

Local villagers rushed to the site of the accident to offer help.

 

All the injured were treated in hospitals in Xi'an, the provincial capital. The seven were only slightly hurt are currently staying at a hotel in Xi'an.

 

Further investigations into the cause of the accident are underway.

 

(Xinhua News Agency March 28, 2006)