Eight people were killed and 12 others injured in a bus accident Wednesday afternoon in Deyang City, southwest China's Sichuan province, according to local sources.

A bus carrying 20 passengers tipped over into a roadside river around 17:20 PM Wednesday, when it was speeding on a highway to Shifang City, which is under the jurisdiction of Deyang, leaving four people killed immediately and another four died later in hospital despite intensive rescue efforts. The remaining 12 passengers were injured, and four of them seriously. They are now all in hospital for further treatment.

The bus belonged to the Luoshui Middle School in Shifang City. And the cause of the accident is being investigated.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2004)