Seven people died and three were injured after a bus veered off a road and plunged 80 meters down into a valley in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The accident occurred at around 8:40 a.m. Saturday in Heqing County. The bus with 10 people aboard veered off a highway after hitting the rear of a truck in the opposite direction, Heqing police said.

Six passengers died at the scene. One died in hospital. The injured have been sent to hospital.

The cause of the incident is still being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency July 27, 2008)