17 die in bus accident

An overcrowded bus crashed into a highway railing in central China on Tuesday, killing 17 people, the government's Xinhua News Agency reported.

The accident in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, also injured at least 30 people, the agency said.

The bus was permitted to carry at most 49 people but had 63 people on board, Xinhua said citing police.

It was traveling from the southern business hub of Shenzhen to Chongqing in western China when it crashed into the highway railing in Changsha at around 1:20 a.m., it said.

An investigation was under way.

China's roads are among the world's deadliest. Tens of thousands of people are killed each year in accidents blamed on poorly maintained roads and vehicles or in attention to safety rules.