Seven people were killed and another 15 were injured in a traffic accident in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, said a local official on Tuesday.

The accident occurred at 10:50 AM when a bus with 22 people on board overturned and fell into a river as it wound along the mountain road in the Guofu Township of Qijiang County.

The 15 injured people, including the bus driver and two children, are all in hospital and one of them is in serious condition.

The bus driver blamed a steering wheel failure but police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

(Xinhua News Agency October 11, 2006)