(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-10-19 19:33

GUIYANG -- Seven people were killed and 23 others injured after a bus plunged down a valley in southwest China's Guizhou province, local government said on Friday.

The bus, with the maximum permitted 30 passengers on board, ran off guard rails at a section of the No. 307 national highway Friday afternoon while en route from Shuicheng County to Nayong County in Guizhou, according to government sources.

Seven died at the scene. Twenty-three injured have been rushed to local hospitals for treatment by 4:00 pm.

The cause of the accident is being investigated.