A bus overturned after it was hit by a falling boulder on Tuesday morning in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in southwest China. The accident left three people dead and four others are still missing.

The passenger bus was traveling in Tian'e County at about 7 AM when a huge boulder rolled down from a nearby mountain and hit the bus, according to the Guangxi Provincial Administration of Work Safety.

Three of the 17 passengers were killed, and four others are missing. Several others were injured.

The injured have been taken to a hospital and now are in stable condition. Investigations are under way.

In another development, a freak tornado blew through the region also on Tuesday, injuring 20.

The tornado lasted for only ten minutes, but it uprooted trees, blew roofs off homes and damaged advertising billboards. Nineteen of the victims were students from Guangming Primary School, who were hurt by broken glass when their classroom window was shattered by the strong winds.

Some of the students are being treated in hospital for injuries sustained.

(Xinhua News Agency September 28, 2005)