Fifteen students from Hong Kong and three local people accompanying them were injured in a traffic accident in Beijing Monday evening, local police authority said Tuesday.

The tourist bus, with 21 Hong Kong students for a cultural exchange project aboard, turned over at 21:31 p.m. Monday on the freeway from the Beijing International Airport to downtown due to slippery road surface after rainfall.

The injured ware sent to a nearby hospital. All the injured are slightly wounded as 10 of them have returned to hotel after treatment while the other 8 are staying in the hospital for a bit more observation, according to local police.

Immediately after the accident, related central and local government officials rushed to the site to carry out rescue. The accident is under further investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2006)