Speeding and improper driving was the cause for a bus accident that killed one Taiwan tourist in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, local traffic police said on Wednesday.

Investigations found the driver was trying to overtake a farm truck at a speed higher than allowed, before the bus carrying 29 Taiwan tourists plunged into a roadside ditch on Monday morning, leaving one dead and more than 10 others injured.

The deceased, Zhu Songchuan, 68, died at the scene of head injuries. His body was cremated on Wednesday afternoon.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) on Monday wrote to the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) to report the accident and its handling, sources said.

The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council and ARATS paid careful attention to the accident. ARATS dispatched an official to assist in handling the accident.

ARATS asked the SEF to report the accident and its aftermath to the relatives of those involved as soon as possible.

(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2008)