In Lingshui County, a double-decker bus fell into a 13-metre deep reservoir, killing at least 18 people, according to Guangzhou-based Yangcheng Evening News.

Although at least 13 people survived the accident, a number of other passengers are still missing.

The cross-province coach was on its way to Qinzhou, in Guangxi from Dongguan, in south China's Guangdong Province, when it hit the railings of a bridge on Lingdong Reservoir and fell into the water.

In Daxin County, four tourists from Taiwan were amongst seven people killed on the same day in a landslide.

According to local police, rocks and mud crashed into a guesthouse at a scenic spot.

The landslide also killed three local villagers. Nine others were injured and 38 homes were damaged.

And in yet another traffic accident on Friday, a coach and mini-bus were in collision on the No. 321 national highway, resulting in four deaths and several serious injuries.

Also on Friday, in Luzhai, 72 people, most of them students and teachers, were sent to hospital after eating suspect rice noodles at a snack bar outside a primary school.

The cause of the incident has not yet been ascertained, local police said.

(China Daily 06/11/2001)