The death toll of Saturday morning's bus turnover accident in Shaanxi Province rose to 26, according to local sources.

Another 46 people, including five children, were injured, 13 of them in serious conditions. They are being treated in hospitals.

The bus, with 72 people on board, turned over and fell down to a river nearby on a highway between Xi'an City and Zhouzhi County of the province at about 5:00 a.m. Saturday. Twenty-five people died on the spot, and one died on the way to hospital.

An early report said there were 49 people on the bus.

The bus from neighboring Sichuan Province was heading for Shanghai when the tragedy happened. Most of the passengers were farmers trying to look for jobs in Shanghai.

Leading officials from the provincial and city governments have arrived at the site to guide the investigation and rescue work.

(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2004)