Death toll from Friday morning's bus-truck collision has increased to 10 after four seriously-injured died in hospital of north China's Hebei Province.

The remaining four injured were in a stable condition and two were operated on later in the day, said a provincial work safety bureau spokesman.

The accident occurred at 4:50 a.m. in Huanghua City on the expressway linking Tianjin and Shanwei of southern Guangdong Province when a mini bus, carrying 14 people, collided with a truck.

All the dead and injured were from the mini bus.

The mini bus, registered in Lankao County in central Henan Province, was overloaded and was only permitted to carry a maximum of eight people.

The truck, loaded with coal, was registered in Zhangjiakou City in Hebei.

Investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.

(Xinhua News Agency, March 7, 2008)