Nine killed in China bus crash

Nine people were killed and 20 others injured when a bus crashed through a barrier and tumbled off a highway in northwest China's Gansu province on Sunday.

The accident occurred near Tongwei county in central Gansu. The bus skidded off the road and plunged into a ten-meter-deep trench, said a local traffic policeman.

Seven people were killed on the spot and two others died in the hospital.

Rescuers said the toll might go up as many of the injured were in a critical condition. The local administration has ordered a probe into the cause of the accident.