Five people were killed and 26 others injured after a bus veered off a road and plunged down a 10-meter-deep gully in northwest China's Gansu Province, local police said Monday.

The bus with 31 people aboard veered off a section of No. 212 national highway in Zhangxian County around 7?AM Sunday. It was traveling from the provincial capital Lanzhou to Dangchang County.

Five people died on the spot, 20 other passengers were seriously injured and six had minor wounds. The injured are being treated in local hospitals.

An initial investigation showed that speeding was to blame for the accident, according to police.

The bus has a carrying capacity of 29 passengers but 31 people were on board when the accident occurred.

(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2006)