At least 10 people including five children died when their overloaded minibus plunged into a mountain valley in southern China on Friday, state media reported the latest in a string of such accidents which have sparked public anger.

The nine-seat vehicle was carrying 20 people when it ran off the road in Guangxi region the official Xinhua news agency reported. Ten survived including a three-month-old infant who was in critical condition  it added.

The deaths of 18 nursery school children in a bus crash in November last year caused a wave of fury and prompted Premier Wen Jiabao to pledge more money for rural bus services especially for those carrying children.

Earlier this week 11 Chinese kindergarten children died when their minivan fell into a pond.

Despite the pledge there has been a string of similar accidents. Transport is notoriously dangerous in rural China where buses and trucks are old and badly maintained and traffic rules are widely ignored.