Overloading and speeding may have contributed to a bus accident that has left 25 people confirmed dead and six others injured this morning in the southwestern municipality of Chongqing.

The bus carrying 31 passengers, six more than its allowable limit, drove through the guardrail of a highway overpass and plunged 13 meters to the ground.

The accident happened at around 8:25 AM as the bus was traveling from the Yubei District to Beibei District.

All the injured, including the bus driver, have been sent to the No.9 People's Hospital of Chongqing and the traditional Chinese medicine hospital of Beibei District.

A rescuer who declined to give his name told Xinhua that 22 people died at the scene and two others died on the way to hospital. One of the seriously injured succumbed to injuries later in the hospital.

Police blame overloading and speeding as the main causes of the accident and overnight rain made the road unexpectedly slick, causing the driver to lose control of the bus.

Government leaders including Zhou Mubing, Chongqing's vice mayor, have been supervising the rescue operation.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2007)