Twenty people were killed and sixteen others injured in a road accident Sunday afternoon in Luxi County of southwest China's Yunnan Province.
The accident occurred at 14:42, when an overloaded and illegally operating truck fell down a 20-meter-deep mountain valley.
According to Yao Tianguo, head of Luxi County, the owner of the truck recently reached an agreement with the local automobile administration to restrict his business to cargo transportation.
However, the truck was carrying three tons of chemical fertilizer and 42 passengers when the driver attempted to evade inspection by detouring along a steep road, resulting in the accident.
Officials from Luxi County have rushed to the accident site and were coordinating rescue efforts at press time.
(Xinhua News Agency March 16, 2003)
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