Struck by a landslide, a bus and a car running on a highway trunk in southeast China's Fujian Province fell into a tributary of the Minjiang River Thursday, leaving 23 people missing, according to witnesses.

When the strong landslide suddenly rushed down from the mountain top at noon Thursday, a bus carring 25 passengers and a car with two people arrived at a section in Jian'ou City and hurled into a tributary of Minjiang River by a pile of mud and rocks.

The bus driver and a passenger were slightly injured, while thetwo people in the car were rescued after the accident. The fate of the 23 missing is still unknown and rescue operations are still underway.

A 100-meter-long crack was found in the mountain. Local residents say it is quite possible that a stronger landslide will come in succession.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2005)