Twenty-three people were killed after a bus plunged 30 meters into a ravine in southwest China's Guizhou Province Friday morning, local police reported.

 

The accident, which also injured more than 20 people, occurred at about 6:30 AM, when the bus ploughed through the highway's guardrail about 12 kilometers from the provincial capital Guiyang.

 

 

The Sichuan licensed bus traveling from Zhongshan City of Guangdong Province to Luzhou of Sichuan Province, was running on a highway linking Guiyang and Xinzhai Township of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

 

 

Initial investigations indicate that careless driving is likely to the cause of the tragedy, said Wang Jianwu, a local traffic police officer at the scene.

 

Wang said injured passengers told him that the driver lost control when he tried to reach for something.

 

The injured passengers have been sent to hospitals and the bus was retrieved from the valley by two cranes, the police said.

 

The cause of the accident is still under investigation and the exact number of people onboard has yet to be determined.

 

(Xinhua News Agency February 25, 2006)