At least 18 people died after a bus fell off a highway bridge at about 6:40 p.m. in Guizhou Province in southwest China on January 4, 2012.

A tourist bus fell off a highway bridge in southwest China on January 4, 2012. [Photo: Xinhua]

Rescue efforts have almost been completed as of 10 p.m., said local authority. Among the 37 injured, six are in critical condition.

The bus was bound for the city of Luzhou in southwest China from the city of Yiwu in east China. It fell off a bridge at the Lanzhou-Haikou expressway and plunged into a 10-meter-deep crevice. The 53-seat tourist bus carried 56 people when the accident took place. The section of the road was icy.

An initial investigation found that the driver was fatigued and speeding.

The accident is the second deadly bus accident China saw in just two days.

Thirteen people died and 41 others were injured on January 3, 2012 when a heavy-duty truck collided with a coach on the Shanghai-Kunming expressway in central China's Hunan Province.

The accidents occurred just before the annual Spring Festival travel rush. The Spring Festival begins on January 23 this year. About 2.85 billion people are expected to hit the roads from January 8 to February 16.