Twenty-five people died in two serious traffic accidents in Southwest China's Guizhou Province at the weekend.

The first accident occurred at 2:30 pm on Saturday, when a bus travelling between the provincial capital Guiyang and Zhijin County fell over a precipice more than 40 metres deep.

When local police arrived at the accident scene, they found the corpses of 23 people who had been on board, including the conductor. Two of the 22 injured died later in hospital.

The accident was still being investigated yesterday. A source with the Zhijin County police speculated that the accident may have been caused by the bus driving too fast while going round a sharp turn.

But a county policeman who refused to be named said no other blame can yet be put on the 28-year-old driver surnamed Li, who is still recovering in hospital.

The bus was designed to carry up to 37 people, but seven of the passengers were children below the age of six, the policeman said.

Three of the seven children were killed in the accident.

The second accident took place at 10 am yesterday on the road connecting Guiyang and the Huangguoshu scenic area in central Guizhou. The collision involved five cars.

Reports said "at least 10" people were injured, with two falling into a deep coma. All of the injured were sent to hospital. Transport on the road had returned to normal by 10:55 am.

The accident was still being investigated last night.

(China Daily July 21, 2003)