33 killed in China as bus plunges into valley

At least 33 people were killed today in northwest China's Shaanxi province after a bus plunged off a cliff and fell down into a valley, officials said.
The accident happened this afternoon, when a bus carrying more than 40 people plunged 30 meters into a ravine in Chunhua county of Xianyang city, said an official with the county's publicity office, adding, the cause of the accident is being investigated.
While 25 passengers died on the spot, eight others who were severely injured died later despite medical treatment, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Pictures from the accident site showed an upside down crashed white bus in the forested ravine.

Road accidents are common place in the communist nation where traffic rules are often not followed and while official statistics are shrouded in mystery, according to latest WHO figures, nearly 20,000 people loose their lives in road accidents in China every year.