Seven people died and nine were injured when a tractor carrying 18 members of one extended family crashed on their way to check out a prospective husband for a young woman in southwest China.

The tractor was carrying the relatives, all from Libidian Village, Pupeng Township, to another village in rural Yunnan Province when the accident occurred at about 4:00 PM on Tuesday, local authorities revealed on Thursday.

The tractor rolled about seven meters down an embankment into a riverbed as the driver attempted to traverse a highway section that had been hit by a landslide in Xiangyun County, Bai Autonomous Prefecture of Dali.

A county government spokesman said two people jumped clear of the vehicle and escaped unhurt, but driver Zhang Xingyu was among the injured.

He said the young woman at the center of the event was on the vehicle, but it was still unknown if she was among the casualties.

The nine injured were all described as stable and were being treated at a hospital in the county, he said.

The villagers were en route to nearby Shimen Village to meet the young woman's boyfriend and consider whether he was worthy of marriage.

Investigations were continuing, the spokesman said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 20, 2007)