Twelve people have been confirmed dead and 35 others injured in a bus crash that occurred in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality early Sunday morning.

The accident happened at around 1:10 a.m. Sunday on a highway in Wanzhou District, local government sources said.

A long-distance bus from Bazhong of Sichuan, bound for south China's Guangdong province with 47 people aboard, smashed the guardrail on the left side of the road and fell 12 meters down to the side of a river. Twelve people were killed on the spot and 35 others were injured, with nine seriously.

All the injured have been hospitalized.

Cause of the accident is still under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency February 29, 2004)