Taskforce heads for Tibet traffic site

A taskforce headed by an official from the State Administration of Work Safety left Beijing on Sunday for the site of a deadly traffic accident that killed 44 in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region on Saturday.

The taskforce was led by Xu Shaochuan, deputy head of the administration. They are expected to help rescue the injured, help relatives of the dead and investigate the accident, according to the administration.

All 11 people injured in the accident are in stable conditions under treatment, local authorities said on Sunday.

A 55-seat bus carrying 50 people fell off a cliff more than 10 meters in height after crashing into an SUV and a pick-up truck at about 4:25 p.m. on Saturday on the No. 318 National Highway in Nyemo County.

The bus passengers were mainly tourists from regions including Anhui, Shanghai, Shandong and Hebei.

Four people were in the SUV and one was in the truck.

The crash occurred on an accident-prone road section extending along the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, on high mountains with multiple sudden turns.