A fatal highway traffic accident killed 14 people and injured 27 others Tuesday evening in Longnan City of northwest China's Gansu Province.

 

A bus, with a carrying capacity of 29 persons, carried 41 passengers and fell into a ravine with a depth of 30 meters on the highway connecting Chengxian with Kangxian counties in Gansu Tuesday evening, local police said.

 

Among the injured, 20 were in critical condition.

 

Preliminary investigation showed the tragedy was caused by overloading and slippery road due to rain in the region.

 

In south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, 11 people were killed and another 29 were wounded in a highway accident on Tuesday afternoon in Bose City.

 

According to the Bose municipal government, a mini-bus carrying 40 passengers fell into a 95-meter-deep ravine in Leye County.

 

Nine passengers were killed on the spot, one more died on the way to hospital and another died in the course of medical rescue at hospital.

 

Initial investigation showed that the bus has a carrying capacity of 19 persons. However, it carried 40 people instead. Further investigation is underway.

 

(Xinhua News Agency October 6, 2005)