Eight people were killed and 11 others injured on Wednesday in southwest China's Yunnan Province when a tractor overturned and plunged about 30 meters into a roadside gully, said local officials.

The victims, most of whom were residents of Pulong Village in Wuding County of Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Chuxiong, a mountainous region in central Yunnan, were en route to Chadian township seat. There, they had planned to take buses to various cities to seek work, said Chen Xuanliang, speaking for the Wuding County Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

As the tractor neared Chadian township seat, it traveled along part of the road that featured a U-turn on the left side and an abrupt, elevated terrace. The tractor overturned and plunged into the gully.

Eight people were declared dead at the scene, including the driver, who has yet to be identified, said Ma Hengxiang, a traffic police officer in Wuding.

The circumstances of the accident remain under investigation, but driver error has been cited as the cause.

All the injured were hospitalized.

(Xinhua News Agency February 14, 2008)