Eleven people were killed and 18 others injured in a truck accident that occurred on Saturday in Shimen County, central China's Hunan Province, local government sources said on Sunday.

The truck, carrying 29 local villagers back home from a weeding ceremony, overturned and plunged into a deep gully at 5:10 pm Saturday, killing 11 people on the spot. The 18 injured people were rushed to hospital immediately.

A task force was immediately established by local government to deal with the aftermath of the accident and to investigate into the cause of the accident.

People on board the ill-fated truck are villagers of Weixin Town, who came back from a wedding ceremony in Tianjixi Village of Xiaomeshi Town.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2004)