17 killed, 3 injured in Guizhou traffic accident
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-15 00:16

An over-loaded minibus overturned in a county in southwestern Guizhou Province Tuesday afternoon, killing 17 passengers and injuring three others.

Police sources said the accident happened at Zhejue Town in Weining Autonomous County of the Yi, Hui and Miao Ethnic Groups around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Sixteen people were killed at the site and one of the four injured died in hospital later in the evening.

Bao Kexin, vice governor of the province arrived at the county to supervise the rescue work and the three other injured were transferred to a large hospital in the county on Tuesday night.

The minibus was obviously overloaded as it was only allowed to carry 17 passengers, but the exact cause of the accident is under investigation, according to police sources.