BEIJING: Eleven people returning home from a funeral in eastern China were killed when the bus they were travelling in plunged into a ravine, state media reported on Thursday.

The accident occurred on Wednesday when the bus carrying 28 people on their way back from a relative's cremation fell 100 metres (yards) down a mountainside in Zhejiang province's Jiangshan city, Xinhua news agency said.

Eleven people died, and 17 others were injured, one of whom was in critical condition, the report said.

Initial investigations into the accident indicated the driver had been careless and the bus was overloaded, as it only had capacity for 19 people, according to the report.

China's roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with nearly 73,500 people dying in road accidents last year, or just over 200 fatalities per day, according to police statistics.


- AFP/so