China bus with 43 aboard plunges down valley

A bus with at least 43 passengers on board plunged down a 300-metre deep valley in China on Monday.

BEIJING, February 8, 2010 (AFP) - A bus with at least 43 passengers on board plunged down a 300-metre (990-feet) deep valley in China on Monday, state media reported, but the number of casualties was not immediately known.

The bus collided with a car on a highway in the southern region of Guangxi and then rolled down the valley, the official Xinhua news agency reported.

Bus passengers who survived the crash said at least 43 people were on board the bus at the time of the accident, the report said.

The driver of the car was seriously injured, it added.

China's roads are among the most dangerous in the world, with nearly 73,500 people dying in road accidents in 2008, or just over 200 fatalities per day, according to police statistics.