Three people are confirmed dead and 15 others injured after a bus veered off a mountain road in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Sunday, the local traffic police said.

The driver of the bus carrying 32 people, lost control and slipped off a 27-meter cliff as it was motoring along highway No. 317.

The accident occurred about 43 kilometers east of Baqen County in Nagqu Prefecture.

Traffic police in the county said a 24-meter section of the road was covered with between 20 and 30 centimeters of ice, but the driver, Jia Yong from southwestern Chongqing Municipality, apparently did not take proper caution.

Jia has been arrested as the investigation continues.

Four of the injured passengers are in critical condition according the local hospital.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2007)