The death toll from Friday's bus accident in Tibet has risen to 18, according to local government.

Four injured passengers died while being transferred from the Nagqu Prefecture, where the accident happened, to the regional capital Lhasa,said Huang Kangyu, Party chief of Tibet regional traffic and transportation administration.

Another 29 people were injured in the accident, including 17 who were seriously wounded. They have been sent to major hospitals in Lhasa and were in a stable condition, said Huang.

The bus, with 47 people onboard, ran off the road and plunged into a valley on its way from Pachen county to the prefecture capital Nagqu Town at around 8:50 a.m. on Friday.

Police are investigating the cause of the crash. The bus was over its seating capacity of 36 people.

Nagqu prefecture is more than 400 kilometers north of Lhasa.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2008)