A long-distance bus plunged off a highway in Qianxi County, Bijie Prefecture in Guizhou, killing 17 and injuring 24 May 7, 2007. [Xinhua]

GUIYANG -- A fatal bus accident on Monday has killed 17 people and injured 25 others in southwest China's Guizhou Province, according to latest statistics from the provincial work safety watchdog.

The accident happened at 5:30 a.m. Monday when a bus plunged off the Guibi Highway in Qianxi County, Bijie Prefecture in western Guizhou, sources with the provincial work safety bureau said.

The double-deck bus furnished with bunk beds was heading from Jinhua City in east China's Zhejiang Province to Zhenxiong County in Zhaotong City in southwestern Yunnan Province, the bureau said.

The bus ploughed through guard rails along the highway, and plunged at least 20 meters down a the slope, plowing down several trees and landing crumbled in a corn field. The roof of the bus was sheared off.

Three children were among the dead, while two of the injured were pregnant.

Six passengers who were seriously injured in the accident are still under emergency treatment in hospital.

A preliminary investigation shows that the driver's fatigue was the main cause of the accident as the bus had gone a long way from Zhejiang and the weather was clear when the accident happened, according to Yuan Baoping, a traffic police officer of Bijie.

Liao Dexiang, the driver, suffered a severely broken leg and is being treated at a local hospital. Liao has been a driver for 18 years.

The bus was licensed to carry 44 passengers and was registered in neighboring Yunnan Province. It started its journey with 40 passengers and picked up two others along the way.

A work team of 10 people from Zhaotong city government has been dispatched to Qianxi to deal with the accident.

The accident occurred on the last day of the seven-day May Day holidays which started on May 1.

Figures released by the State Council Work Safety Committee on Sunday indicate 75 people died in 33 accidents in the first four days of the month.

Sixteen were killed in a car accident in Yunnan on Friday when a truck suffered break failure and ploughed into a crowd of people waiting for a bus.

A coal mine explosion the following day has claimed 28 lives, with two others still missing in northern Shanxi Province.

In a separate accident in Guizhou Sunday, a mini-van veered off a road in Panxian county, killing five people and injuring two others.

In another accident which happened last Thursday in Rui'an, east China's Zhejiang province, a truck-taxi crash claimed four lives and injured four others.

Local police said Monday that the truck carried 21.9 tons of cargo, about eight tons more than its limit.

Statistics from the Ministries of Health and Public Security show traffic accidents kill about 100,000 people and injure 400,000 each year on average for the last seven years in China. In 2006, the country recorded 378,781 traffic accidents, with 89,455 deaths.

Experts say a lack of safety awareness, flagrant violations of traffic rules and poor road etiquette are the major causes of traffic accidents in China.

The Ministry Public Security has issued new regulations on April 1, requiring learner drivers to sit a tougher license test to boost safety awareness.

New drivers have to pass at least 10 out of 13 practical tests, which include changing lanes, traversing intersections and night driving.

They will also be tested on real roads that have a traffic flow of at least 60 cars per hour. Learners in mountainous areas will take additional tests on roads with tunnels and steep slopes.