A traffic accident Thursday morning in Hexian county of east China's Anhui Province claimed nine lives at the scene and injured 26 others.

A bus collided head on with a mini-bus in Gushan village of Hexian county at 7:30 a.m. Thursday, killing a 20-year-old female passenger on the bus and eight people on the minibus including four kids.

Rescue workers and officials from local governments rushed to the scene and police were still investigating the causes of the accident by press time.

Statistics with the Anhui Provincial Public Security Administration show that 12 serious traffic accidents took place during a three-weak heavy traffic period from Jan. 7 to 30.

Overloading, speeding and fatigue driving are, among others, the main causes for the accidents.

(Xinhua News Agency February 1, 2004)