13 killed in bus accident in China

At least 13 people were killed and six othersinjured today when a bus fell into a river from a bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province, officials said today.

The accident took place in Kaiyang, an outer county of the provincial capital Guiyang, the county government said in a statement.

The 19-seater bus, en route from Kaiyang to Weng'an county in Bouyei-Miao Autonomous Prefecture of Qiannan, veered off a bridge and fell into the river, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

At least 13 people were killed and six others injured in the accident, the report said, adding that a probe has been launched into the accident.
 

Local police are holding several people in custody for questioning, it said.

Fatal road accidents are a serious problem in China, where traffic regulations are often flouted.

The country's frequently overcrowded long-distance buses are prone to accidents, with individual incidents regularly causing dozens of deaths.